Daniel Dubois in talks to face dangerous 6ft 6in power puncher in next fight

Daniel Dubois is gearing up for a return to the ring, five months removed from a crushing defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

‘Triple D’ had his IBF heavyweight title snatched away from him by Usyk in July as he succumbed to a second stoppage defeat at the Ukrainian’s hands.

Reuters

The setback prompted a complete overhaul of his backroom staff.

Head trainer Don Charles and his assistant Kieran Farrell were replaced by Tony Sims, while Sam Jones was brought in as an advisor.

Dubois has since reunited with Charles after a lengthy period of reflection and is now locked into negotiations for his next fight.

“There’s been talks to try and make Zhilei Zhang against Daniel Dubois, which Frank Warren has highlighted, so we’re actively trying to make that happen,” Jones told BoxingScene.

“We are actively now, with Frank Warren, trying to get Daniel back into the ring pretty soon.

“He’s ready, he’s back in the gym, and he’s raring to go. He’s ready to fight now.”

Jones went on to confirm that they are targeting an April date in London – a city where both Zhang and Dubois enjoyed their best nights as professionals.

Dubois blasted away Anthony Joshua in five rounds at Wembley Stadium in his penultimate contest, while Zhang stopped Joe Joyce twice in 2023 at the Copper Box and Wembley Arena, when ‘The Juggernaut’ looked like an immovable object.

Since his victories over Joyce, Zhang has had a turbulent run in the paid ranks, losing to Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel, with a brutal knockout victory over Deontay Wilder squeezed in between.

While the 42-year-old’s gas tank has let him down on more than one occassion he still carries monstrous power in both hands.

Mark Robinson/Matchroom

The towering 6ft 6in southpaw has been calling out Dubois over the last couple of years to no avail, and will be raring to go on fight night.

Zhilei Zhang’s stance

“Zhang absolutely wants the Dubois fight,” co-manager Terry Lane told Sky Sports earlier this month.

“It’s been on his wishlist for some time now.

“We’ve made Queensberry [Frank Warren’s promotional team] aware, and let’s hope we can get it done…

“Zhang versus Dubois would be an absolute banger.

“Both are still top guys despite coming off of losses. It makes sense to make.”