Dubois picked himself up from two early knockdowns May 9 to stop Wardley in the 11th round of a violent WBO heavyweight title fight at Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England. Given the brutal nature of the fight, it was slightly surprising when Wardley quickly triggered a contractual clause entitling him to an immediate rematch.

Just how immediate remains to be seen.

Although he never stopped trying to win, Wardley eventually absorbed an incredible amount of punishment before being stopped. Anybody who witnessed the 31-year-old former champion’s remarkable display of bravery and toughness won’t begrudge him taking every possible moment to recover mentally and physically.

London’s Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) understands that he is contractually obliged to fight Wardley (20-1-1, 19 KOs) again and has no problem with accommodating the former champion. The two-time heavyweight titleholder would just like to do it sooner rather than later.

“Well, that’s what they’re talking about, but I’m not going to wait on no one,” Dubois, The Ring’s No. 1 heavyweight contender, said when asked about a rematch during an appearance on talkSPORT. “I’m going to get busy with that belt, defend that belt, and I can’t wait to start improving, getting out there, and just maximizing what we’ve done and what we’ve worked on since I was a little kid, being taken to the gym by my dad, and now we’re here. It’s been a good journey.”

Dubois reiterated that his ultimate aim is to become the undisputed heavyweight champion. To do that, he would need to dethrone Oleksandr Usyk, his old nemesis and The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC champion.

Ukraine’s Usyk stopped Dubois in the ninth round of Dubois’ bid to become a unified champ in August 2023. He regrouped well and won the IBF belt when he knocked out former unified champ Anthony Joshua in the fifth round of their bout in September 2024.

Dubois got back in the ring with Usyk less than two years after their first fight, but he was knocked out in the fifth round of their rematch July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London, where he also knocked out Joshua.

Usyk (25-0, 16 KOs) admits that he is nearing the end of his outstanding career. He did say, though, that he would like one of his final fights to be against the winner of the fight between Wardley and Dubois.

How much interest a third Usyk-Dubois bout would generate remains to be seen. The WBC made it more unlikely Monday by announcing that it will order Usyk to defend his WBC belt against Germany’s Agit Kabayel next.

Dubois wouldn’t shy away from a third fight with Usyk and feels like he is now in a much better place to be successful.

“Whoever it is, I’ve got to take care of him,” Dubois said. “I think we’ll just cover up some of the holes I had in my game and my team last time, so I feel like it’s just going to be a whole new complete fighter and I;m just going to be out to get him. That’s it – out to get him. Get the belts as well.”