DANIEL DUBOIS has made a “poor decision” jumping straight back into the deep end against Fabio Wardley, Eddie Hearn believes.
The former IBF heavyweight champion will throw down with the East Anglia assassin in a Manchester melee on May 9.
The fight will be Dubois’ first since his slaying at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley last July and will provide him the opportunity to become a two-time champion.
But Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn believes the risks far outweigh the reward of becoming WBO heavyweight king and that ‘Triple D’ should’ve taken a tune-up fight instead.
He told iFL TV: “If I was Daniel Dubois, I would be coming back with a [lesser] fight.
“But what happens is you make so much money that you don’t want to come back with one of those fights because you are not really looking at the long play.
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“I think sometimes that is a little bit of a poor decision.”
Hearn reckons the domestic dust-up between former sparring partners comes at the perfect time for champion Wardley.
He said: “The last time Daniel Dubois fought was July, against Usyk, that was now eight months ago.
“So, if he fights in May, he is going to have been out of the ring for 10 months after getting knocked out.
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There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring.
Tyson Fury will make his return in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov, Conor Benn is closing in on a world title shot and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly won heavyweight crown.
Canelo Alvarez will be hoping to return after his defeat to Terence Crawford and heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk will also need to defend his straps.
Derek Chisora will fight for the 50th and (perhaps) final time against Deontay Wilder, while Daniel Dubois is also on the comeback trail.
A whole bunch of British stars could also take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim ready to join the very top of the sport.
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February
- Sat 21 – Ryan Garcia vs Mario Barrios – WBC welterweight title – DAZN PPV
- Sat 21 – Leigh Wood vs Josh Warrington – DAZN
- Sun 22 – Claressa Shields vs Franchon Crews-Dezurn – heavyweight unification – DAZN
- Sat 28 – Emanuel Navarrete vs Eduardo Nunez – super-featherweight unification – DAZN
March
- Sat 14 – Jazza Dickens vs Anthony Cacace – WBA super-featherweight title – DAZN
- Sat 28 – Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin – DAZN
- Sat 28 – Sebastian Fundora vs Keith Thurman – Amazon Prime PPV
April
- Sat 4 – Derek Chisora vs Deontay Wilder – DAZN PPV
- Sat 11 – Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov – Netflix
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“Daniel Dubois is the kind of guy where, if he has any doubts in himself or if he is not 100% confident, he is much easier to beat than the flip side of that.”
Dubois has yet to speak on the announcement of his ring return.
Wardley, on the other hand, took to Instagram shortly after the announcement of his maiden title defence.
He wrote: “REAL FIGHTS ONLY!💥”