The heavyweight landscape could look very different by the end of the year.
Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will finally meet at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium in December, more than a decade after a fight between the British rivals was first discussed.
Their bout has reportedly been earmarked for a WBA ‘super’ heavyweight title, although that has proved controversial.
Gassiev remains listed by the WBA as its world champion and his team have lodged an objection to the prospect of another WBA heavyweight champion being crowned.
But it means the winner of Dubois-Wardley could enter 2027 with several lucrative options.
For Dubois, another victory would settle his rivalry with Wardley at 2-0 and give him a successful first defence of his second world title reign.
At the age of 29, wins over Joshua, Hrgovic and Wardley twice would leave Dubois with one of the strongest recent records among the division’s leading heavyweights.
Unification fights against Kabayel or Hrgovic would be obvious targets, while the winner of Fury-Joshua could provide another huge all-British option depending on how the WBA title situation develops.
For Wardley, victory would see him regain the title, avenge the only defeat of his career and put himself firmly in the conversation for unification fights.
The consequences of defeat are slightly different, though.
A second successive loss to Dubois would leave Wardley needing to rebuild before another world title opportunity.
Should Dubois lose, the rivalry would stand at 1-1 and calls for a third fight would begin almost immediately.