The International Boxing Federation (IBF) has set a date in April next year for any possible rematch between current heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua, Afrosport reports.
The IBF revealed that any potential rematch for the title bout must happen by April 22, 2025, according to the boxing federation’s rules.
Dubois secured a knockout win over Joshua at Wembley Stadium last month, with the 27-year-old dropping his compatriot in the fifth round to defend his IBF heavyweight title.
As stated in the IBF rule books, reigning champion Dubois has within nine months to make a voluntary defence of his title, which makes room for a possible rematch with Joshua as long as it happens on or before the April date.
Rule 5.A.2 of the IBF’s regulations regarding the heavyweight division states that “all optional defences, and any and all other bouts, by a champion shall be concluded at least 60 days prior to the date the champion’s mandatory is due”.
Dubois, however, must fight a mandatory challenger after this date, with the possible opponent set to be the winner of the IBF final eliminator bout between Cameroonian Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel.
This is in accordance with the IBF regulations, which state that “the champion shall be obligated to mandatorily defend his championship within intervals of no more than nine months against the leading available contender in the heavyweight division as designated by the championships chairman”.
Dubois will be informed on approximately April 22 of his mandatory title defence on June 21.
Furthermore, the IBF added that if Dubois chooses to pursue a unification bout after his mandatory defence date, he would not be faced with any obstacles.
It is important to note that the only unification fight on the cards for the Brit would be against the winner of the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, which is slated for Saudi Arabia on December 2021 for the WBC, WBO and WBA heavyweight champion.
