Warren outlines plan for heavyweight unification in 2027
Promoter Frank Warren told the 5 Live Boxing podcast that he intends to stage heavyweight world-title unification fights in 2027 and hopes to bring former undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk back into the picture, ahead of Daniel Dubois defending his WBO belt against Fabio Wardley at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.
Warren noted that the division's four major titles are currently held by different fighters and that he promotes three of those champions, including Dubois. The rematch comes five months after Dubois recovered from two early knockdowns to stop Wardley in the 11th round in Manchester. Warren also promotes WBC champion Agit Kabayel and IBF title-holder Filip Hrgovic.
On the podcast Warren outlined his approach to reunifying belts. "The plan is to make the unification fights happen and try to get Usyk back in it," he said. "No-one can say we're keeping guys apart."
Warren said the WBA 'super' heavyweight championship will be put up when Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua meet in Cardiff on 11 December. "The WBA have put that belt up for them," Warren said, while the sanctioning body has yet to publicly confirm the arrangement and Russia's Murat Gassiev is still listed as its sole heavyweight world champion. Gassiev could be relegated to 'regular' champion status if the WBA awards its primary 'super' title to the Fury-Joshua winner.
Usyk became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the four-belt era when he beat Fury in May 2024. The Ukrainian, "who narrowly escaped a scare against boxing novice Rico Verhoeven in May," has since vacated his world titles, leaving opportunities for a new group of champions to contest the division's belts.
Warren confirmed that British heavyweight Moses Itauma will return in January as he seeks to rebuild after his first professional defeat. The 21-year-old was stopped in the ninth round by Hrgovic in August, when Hrgovic claimed the vacant IBF heavyweight title, after Itauma had dominated the early rounds before tiring. "He's fighting in January. We'll be announcing his fight in the next couple of weeks," Warren said. "We had a constructive meeting a couple of weeks ago. We let the dust settle, talked about what happened against Hrgovic." Warren added: "Moses comes back and has a fight and wants to be in the mix," and "He's only 21 and he wants 2027 to be the year he wins a world title."
Dubois and Wardley meet at the O2 Arena on Saturday, Fury and Joshua are due to meet in Cardiff on 11 December with the WBA 'super' potentially at stake, and Warren says Itauma will return in January with his next opponent to be announced in the coming weeks.