Is Daniel Dubois the New King of the Heavyweight Division?

Daniel's crushing win against a tough, powerful, former champion like Wardley, who'd given him hell in their first match, has rightfully earned him high praise.

But some people have gone so far as to suggest that Dubois is now the best heavyweight in the division. As good as he is, and he's probably still improving, it is far too soon to draw that kind of conclusion.

This was only Daniel's first defence of his title against the same man he'd won it from in May. Fabio Wardley is one of the bravest, toughest men in boxing, but it should be remembered that he had only become champion himself when Oleksandr Usyk vacated the WBO title. Fabio was what they call "an email champion."

It should also be remembered that Wardley had no amateur background whatsoever. The missing foundation of his boxing education showed in his lack of defence and the crudeness of his attacks.

To get as far as he did was an extraordinary achievement, but he did have a little luck along the way in the form of two stoppages - against Justis Huni and Joseph Parker, that were considered by many to be premature. In both wins, he was behind on the scorecards.

Dubois does have other excellent wins on his resume - against Jarell "Big Baby" Miller, Anthony Joshua and Filip Hrgovic. Although the victory over the previously undefeated Hrgovic was somewhat marred by the Brit's frequent use of the head. But Dubois was coming on strong after a shaky start, and the Croatian was looking exhausted.

A rematch with Hrgovic, which is being talked about for next year, would not be a foregone conclusion. Filip has bounced back impressively from that lone defeat, with a string of wins, culminating in an upset of the 21 year-old prodigy, Moses Itauma, for the IBF title. 

Hrgovic demonstrated that the gas tank that let him down against Dubois and Zhang is now one of his finest assets. He can thank new trainer Abel Sanchez in his high altitude gym in Big Bear, California for that.

Hrgovic has also admitted that he underestimated Dubois. It's easy to hear Daniel's slow, almost childlike speech and think he'll be easy to outwit in the ring. This is a big mistake.

But Dubois has also improved since their fight. His trainer, Don Charles has taught him how to duck under the kind of right hands that Hrgovic was repeatedly catching him with two years ago. 

The Kurdish-German WBC heavyweight champion, Agit Kabayel should also not be underestimated. He is undefeated and has some good scalps on his record, such as Zhilei Zang and Frank Sanchez. He'll be in action again next month against Albania's huge, undefeated Nelson Hysa. Agit is by far the best body puncher in the heavyweight division.

Dubois, Kabayel and Hrgovic all box under Frank Warren's Queensberry banner, so fights between them should be fairly easy to arrange. 

It cannot be assumed that Dubois would beat either of them. 

Even if he does, there is a certain Oleksandr Usyk who's lying low at the moment, with no fight lined up. But he has not retired. He outclassed and stopped Dubois twice, so as long as he's still around, there should be no talk of Dubois being the top dog in the heavyweight division.