Daniel Dubois scored a stunning two-round victory in Saturday's rematch with Fabio Wardley to defend the WBO heavyweight world title; Moses Itauma has to rebuild from his IBF world championship defeat to Filip Hrgovic but can return to set himself on a collision course with Dubois
Sports Journalist @johndennen
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Daniel Dubois and Moses Itauma could become the heavyweight rivalry to define British boxing in the years to come.
The sport in the UK has been dominated by the personalities and talents of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury over the last decade. Although Fury and Joshua didn't box each other when they were both reigning world champions, they will finally fight in December in Cardiff.
That really will be a swansong bout for Fury and Joshua. While it's hard to imagine Dubois and Itauma matching the levels of fame Fury and AJ enjoyed, they can emulate them as two British rivals taking over the top of the heavyweight division.
They can also differ from Fury and AJ in a crucial regard - they don't have to leave actually fighting each other until the autumn of their careers. Both Dubois and Itauma are young, especially for heavyweights. Dubois is 29 years old and Itauma just 21.
They can fight in their primes, and they've got the time to box twice, even three times, in their careers if merited.
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Dubois is riding high now. His two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk feel long distant after Dubois won an epic brawl in a first fight with Fabio Wardley to claim the WBO world title and most recently demolished Wardley in a rematch to defend the belt.
Itauma has to come back from defeat to Filip Hrgovic, a first professional loss for the fast-rising star.
Fighting for the IBF world title, Itauma outboxed Hrgovic, only to suddenly tire and unravel. Hrgovic, after absorbing punishment for eight rounds, stopped Itauma in the ninth.
Itauma now finds himself with questions to answer and a point to prove, just as Dubois did in his first career defeat when he took a knee against Joe Joyce in 2020.
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Dubois is backing Itauma to come back and return to the heavyweight title picture.
"I hope so," Dubois said. "You need dance partners."
