Frank Warren considers Dubois-Kabayel unification for February

Frank Warren is considering a heavyweight unification between Daniel Dubois and Agit Kabayel for February, with the German first required to defend his WBC title against Nelson Hysa.

Dubois retained his WBO championship by stopping Fabio Wardley in two rounds at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday. Warren now wants the British heavyweight back in action in February, with a meeting between two of his world champions among the options being considered.

Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan programme on Monday, Warren said: “He’ll fight in February, and we are going to look and see.”

The promoter pointed to Kabayel’s November 28 defence against Hysa in Germany as a contest that could help determine Dubois’s next opponent.

“Let’s see the outcome because that would be a fantastic unification scrap,” Warren said of the potential Dubois–Kabayel meeting.

Kabayel is scheduled to make the first defence of his full WBC championship at Düsseldorf’s Merkur Spiel-Arena. The unbeaten German was elevated from interim champion in June after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the title.

A February unification would require a relatively short turnaround following the Hysa contest. A quick victory without injury would make that schedule more practical, although Warren has not announced a specific February date or confirmed an agreement between the champions.

Kabayel, 27–0 with 19 knockouts, last fought in January, stopping Damian Knyba in three rounds in Oberhausen. His recent run also includes stoppage victories over Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez and Zhilei Zhang, whose defeat earned him the interim WBC belt in February 2025.

Hysa enters the November contest unbeaten in 25 professional fights, with 23 stoppages. The Albanian stopped Thomas Narmo in two rounds on the Hrgovic–Itauma undercard in August before confronting Kabayel at ringside.

Kabayel is not the only champion linked with Dubois. IBF titleholder Filip Hrgovic entered the ring after Saturday’s main event and challenged him to a rematch, suggesting March as a possible date. Dubois stopped Hrgovic in their first meeting in June 2024.

However, Hrgovic has an outstanding mandatory obligation against Frank Sanchez, who accepted a step-aside agreement to allow the Croatian to face Moses Itauma for the vacant IBF title in August. Warren has previously described the Sanchez defence as a contractual obligation, complicating any immediate move into a unification.

Warren is targeting early 2027 for Hrgovic’s first defence in Croatia, with Arena Zagreb emerging as the likely venue and Sanchez expected to provide the opposition. Speaking to The Ring last week, Warren said Queensberry was working to deliver Hrgovic’s desired homecoming, although a date and venue have yet to be formally announced.

For now, Warren has identified February as Dubois’s intended return month, with Kabayel’s performance against Hysa likely to influence whether a WBO–WBC unification can follow.