David Price backs Dubois, urges Moses Itauma fight after 11th-round win
David Price is looking past the rematch talk after Daniel Dubois stopped Fabio Wardley in the 11th round in Manchester to win the WBO heavyweight title. Stan Dubois said he wants his son to face Moses Itauma next, and he shut down the idea of another Oleksandr Usyk fight.
Dubois Stops Wardley
Dubois recovered from two early knockdowns before closing the fight in the 11th round, a run that sent him back into the heavyweight title picture with the WBO belt. He beat Wardley in Manchester and regained a world title in the same night.
That finish left Stan Dubois with a clear preference when the questions turned to what comes next. Asked about a Usyk rematch, he said: “No, I want to see him fight this giant.” He also praised his son’s showing, saying: “Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. He showed what he was made of tonight and he delivered.”
Stan Dubois Picks Itauma
The name Stan Dubois wants is Moses Itauma, the #1 WBO-ranked heavyweight contender who has already been identified by WBO president Gustavo Olivieri as the mandatory challenger for Dubois’ title. That puts the 11th-round win into a live title conversation rather than a one-off victory celebration.
Itauma is one of boxing’s fastest-rising young heavyweights, which is why the post-fight preference landed with weight. Stan Dubois also defended the timing of the stoppage after Wardley’s resistance faded, saying: “I thought so, but they were hoping that he would come back from the dead, weren’t they?”
Usyk Left Behind
The immediate friction point is simple: Stan Dubois would rather see his son take the Itauma fight than revisit Usyk. After one title win and two early knockdowns survived, Daniel Dubois now sits in a position where the next opponent could be a mandatory challenger rather than another familiar name.
For readers tracking the heavyweight picture, the Wardley result changed the order of conversation fast. Dubois is back with a world title, Itauma already sits in the mandatory slot, and Stan Dubois has made his preference plain before the next move is set.
