Daniel Dubois: Is He Mentally Ready for a “Big Fight” After His Loss to Usyk?

Queensberry promoter Frank Warren revealed today that former IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois will have a “big fight” for his next bout.

Five names have been floated on social media for Dubois (22-3, 21 KOs) as potential candidates for his next fight. Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel have been mentioned as the two viable options.

Potential Foes for Dubois

• Moses Itauma: Putting Dubois in with 20-year-old Itauma would be risky, as he would be facing a big puncher, and he would have to be mentally ready for an immediate shootout.
• Joseph Parker: The WBO interim champion Parker shares the same promoter as Dubois. It would be an easy fight to make.
• Fabio Wardley: His power makes him a questionable option for Dubois, as he would be head-hunting right off the bat.
• Agit Kabayel: The unbeaten Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) would also be a problem for Dubois, as he’s a big puncher, calm and intelligent. If the going gets tough against Kabayel, Dubois would need to stay composed for him to have a shot at winning. Given his track record, it’s questionable whether he could deal with this kind of fighter.
• Anthony Joshua: With promoter Eddie Hearn talking about wanting to match AJ against Jake Paul in 2026, it’s doubtful he’ll be fighting Dubois before then.

It’s essential that Dubois, 27, gets a quality name, as he’s coming off a fifth-round knockout loss to WBA, WBC, and WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk on July 19, 2025, at Wembley Stadium in London.

Dubois’ Mental State

Many boxing fans believe that Dubois quit in that fight by not getting up from the second knockdown in round five. The way that Dubois looked around at the crowd while being counted out gave the appearance that he could have gotten to his feet, but chose not to.

“Big news. It’s going to be a tough fight. A good fight. A quality fight,” said promoter Frank Warren on X, talking about former IBF Heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois’ next bout. “Everybody is going to love it when they hear it. It’s a big, big fight.”

Dubois appeared to crumble in his rematch with Usyk last July. It would be a gamble to toss him back in with one of the five heavyweights that have been mentioned as potential options.

That wasn’t the first fight in which Dubois fell apart when faced with adversity. He appeared to quit in his stoppage losses to Joe Joyce and Usyk in their first contest.

Building Confidence with Chisora

Fans on social media would like to see Dubois build his confidence with a fight against 41-year-old Derek Chisora or Dave Allen. Those two are popular in the UK, and have enough pop in their punches to give ‘DDD’ Dubois a test.

“Yeah, big news announcing soon, so, you know, I’ll let these guys talks about it (promoter Warren and manager Sam Jones), but I’m gonna be well up for it,” Daniel Dubois said. “And I’m coming back!”