The IBF has thrown a hurdle in the way of an Oleksandr Usyk vs. Daniel Dubois rematch for the undisputed heavyweight title.
On Wednesday, the sanctioning body formally ordered Dubois to defend his IBF heavyweight crown against its mandatory challenger, Derek Chisora, in his next bout.
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Dubois and Chisora have until May 22 to reach a deal, or the fight will head to purse bids, where Dubois will be entitled to 65% of the winning offer and Chisora will receive 35%. The minimum bid is $200,000, although the winning bid would almost certainly be much higher.
Dubois is currently negotiating a unification fight with Usyk that is in discussions for July 12 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Per the IBF’s rules, Dubois may request an exemption from his mandatory defense against Chisora, allowing him to face Usyk before the IBF sets a purse bid hearing, which is likely to happen around May 22, when the negotiation period for Dubois vs. Chisora expires.
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Usyk, Uncrowned’s No. 1 male pound-for-pound boxer, knocked out Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) in the ninth round in their first meeting to retain his unified heavyweight title in Poland in August 2023. But the drama began long before Dubois sat out the count from a heavy Usyk jab.
In the fifth round, Dubois floored Usyk with a right hand that was controversially ruled as a low blow. Usyk was given several minutes to recover, much to the disappointment of Dubois and Queensberry’s Frank Warren, who unsuccessfully filed an official appeal with the WBA, contesting the referee’s decision.
Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) occupies the No. 2 position in the IBF’s heavyweight rankings, which he earned after beating Otto Wallin in an official IBF eliminator in February.
Chisora wasn’t supposed to be the mandatory challenger. The IBF had previously ordered Martin Bakole and Efe Ajagba to collide in an IBF final eliminator, however Bakole stepped in on 48 hours’ notice to take on Joseph Parker on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard in February.
IBF rules do not allow boxers in a final eliminator to take an “interim” bout, so when Bakole agreed to fight Parker, he disqualified himself from the IBF eliminator against Ajagba. Bakole will still face Ajagba on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. William Scull undercard on May 3, but it will not be a final eliminator.
