Daniel Dubois wants to fight Moses Itauma soon, but getting Queensberry to agree could be the harder job. There is good reason to doubt whether the promoter would put its young heavyweight in with Dubois within the next three to five years.

“I want to fight him [Itauma] sooner,” Dubois told Sky Sports Boxing.

That is an appealing position from a fighter. From Queensberry’s side, the calculation could look very different. Itauma is 21, has years ahead of him, and is coming off a defeat against Filip Hrgovic. Sending him toward another powerful, experienced heavyweight would be an aggressive way to rebuild.

Dubois, 29, is coming off a second-round stoppage of Fabio Wardley. He wants the toughest opponents, and he believes the losses in his own career have made him better equipped to handle them.

The problem for Itauma would be dealing with a fighter who can keep applying pressure after taking his best shots. Speed and early success would only cover part of the job. He would need the stamina, composure and durability to keep Dubois off him as the rounds passed.

Queensberry could want to see those qualities tested before considering this fight. The commercial temptation would also be to build Itauma through other opponents, restore his confidence and give a potential British heavyweight headliner more time to grow.

That is an argument for waiting. It can also become an excuse that lasts for years.

Dubois pointed to Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua as an example of a fight that should have happened earlier. His concern is sensible: waiting for the biggest possible payday can mean missing the best sporting moment.

Queensberry knows exactly what they have in Itauma, and they are not going to torch their future cash cow. The timeline where this fight actually makes sense for the promoter is roughly 2031, when two distinct curves cross:

Dubois has to accumulate miles. His style guarantees punishment. He takes shots to land his own, and after another four or five years of wars, title defenses, or heavy stoppage defeats, that physical capital dries up. The legs slow down, the punch resistance erodes, and the reaction time dulls.

By then, Itauma will be 26. He will have his man-strength, a dozen more learning fights against durable gatekeepers, and the veteran composure he lacks today.

Promoters love matching their rising young star against a fading, battle-worn former champion who still carries name recognition. That is the classic passing of the torch script. Making it any sooner would be asking for trouble, potentially ruining Itauma’s hype.

In the meantime, Queensberry will likely keep him safely protected on the back burner until Dubois has plenty of tread worn off the tires.

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