Dubois (23-3, 22 KOs) has rebuilt his reputation as a prominent player in the heavyweight division, armed with a grueling 11th-round stoppage win over previously-unbeaten WBO champion Fabio Wardley last month.

Two-time world champion Dubois, The Ring's No. 1-rated heavyweight contender, is slated to rematch Wardley for the WBO belt sometime in the fourth quarter of 2026 after the Ipswich man exercised his clause a few days later.

Joyce, who inflicted the 28-year-old's first pro defeat in November 2020, has again reaffirmed a desire to run it back with one of the sport's most concussive punchers having shipped punishment aplenty but holding firm under duress to jab him at range and score an upset win which set the wheels in motion for his own world-level rise.

He scored knockout wins over Carlos Takam, Christian Hammer and Joseph Parker over the next two years before opting to stay active with dire consequences, losing his perfect record and mystique surrounding a supposedly iron chin during an unexpected two-fight series with Zhilei Zhang for WBO interim world honors he didn't need to take.

The 40-year-old heads to Russia next month on a two-fight losing skid, having been outpointed over ten rounds by Derek Chisora and Filip Hrgovic, with a labored stoppage of Kash Ali in the final round of their March 2024 bout the only victory on his ledger since engaging in an ill-advised battle against Chinese southpaw "Big Bang" Zhang.

When asked about a Dubois rematch, the Olympic silver medalist told Sky Sports: "It's always an attractive option. Before I took Zhang, which was obviously a bad decision, I was WBO interim [champion] off the back of beating Dubois and Parker. So it's just like a bit of a mistake that I'm going to rectify now."

Suslenkov (14-0, 9 KOs), a decade his junior, has only gone the ten-round distance once as an eight-year professional and will fancy his chances of a career-best win against a declining Joyce.

Having echoed similar sentiments ringside when Oleksandr Usyk beat Dubois in last summer's rematch at Wembley, it's clear the Putney puncher is motivated again to get back in the heavyweight picture.

"The motivation is getting the win, getting back in there and putting in a dominant performance. I've made some changes and I'm training hard and getting ready for that fight. I've been training, learning this year, putting in the work so I'm ready to show what I've learned."