Daniel Dubois has confirmed that he was approached to fight Wladimir Klitschko.
The Ukrainian boxing legend hung up his gloves in 2017, following defeats to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua.
However, the Daily Mail reported that Klitschko threw his hat into the ring to challenge Dubois for his IBF strap after Joshua opted out of an immediate rematch last year.
Both parties touched bases but the negotiations were quickly abandoned in the wake of Jake Paul‘s controversial clash with 58-year-old Mike Tyson in November.
Tyson looked like a shadow of his former self as he laboured to a wide points defeat against a man 31 years his junior.
Dubois, 27, is over two decades younger than Klitschko and promoters feared a similar outcome to that of Paul vs Tyson if they sanctioned the fight, so the plug was pulled
Klitschko, 48, has always kept the door a jar over a possible comeback fight but the Mayor of Kyiv admitted recently that his focus is currently on defending his country from the ongoing Russian invasion.
“There are a lot of rumours these days about a possible comeback,” he wrote on X.
“At the moment, I’m not concerned with my return to boxing, but with the return of Russians to their country, outside Ukraine.
“And let me be clear: I’ve never stopped training. So IF there was to be a fight, I’d be ready on the spot.
“But this weekend I’m just going to see a fight with a talented Ukrainian [Oleksandr Usyk]. Go Usyk! Slava Ukraini!”
A fight with Dubois is seemingly off the cards for now, but the IBF heavyweight champion admits he would be open to boxing Klitschko if the opportunity arose again.
“They were talking about it but it has gone quiet now for a bit,” he told BoxNation.
“So I reckon he doesn’t fancy it anymore, having me on his case.
“Yeah [I would fight him], whoever wants it. Wladimir or whatever makes the most sense with the team.
“But yeah, Wladimir Klitschko, the legend Wladimir Klitschko, that would be something else, wouldn’t it?”
Klitschko is the second-longest reigning heavyweight champion of all time (behind Joe Louis), having unified and defended the IBF, WBO and WBA titles during a period of 9 years, 7 months and 6 days.
He was eventually dethroned by Fury in 2015 following a remarkable 19-fight winning streak in world title bouts.
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