Oleksandr Usyk has been instructed to defend his world titles against Daniel Dubois with the WBA moving swiftly following the collapse of Usyk’s talks with Tyson Fury.
The Ukrainian had been hoping to take on Fury in an undisputed battle at heavyweight later this month but with that now off, it appears Usyk could be facing another British fighter.
Dubois became WBA 'regular' champion in 2022 when he travelled to America and stopped Trevor Bryan in four rounds.
His reign was almost a short one as he had to overcome a huge crisis against Kevin Lerena in his first defence as he was dropped three times in the first round before rallying well to win in the third session.
As the holder of the WBA’s secondary title, Dubois is entitled to a crack at Usyk’s more senior crown, and it looks like he’s at the front of the queue.
Usyk has other mandatory obligations in the shape of Joe Joyce and Filip Hrgovic, but with the WBA now insisting Usyk and Dubois strike a deal, we could see that fight in the near future.