If all goes to plan, Trevor Bryan might actually fight a warm body this year. The WBA has officially ordered him to defend his “world” heavyweight title against Daniel Dubois by July 28th.
If Mahmoud Charr is to be believed, Bryan (22-0, 15 KO) has twice avoided fighting him with the exact same trick: Don King won the purse bid with a seven-digit offer, then refused to send Charr the signed contract, leaving him unable to get the necessary visa and allowing Bryan to defend his belt against an unworthy challenger on short notice.
Thus, two title defenses against Bermane Stiverne and Jonathan Guidry, the latter of whom actually managed to sway one judge this past Saturday.
Dubois (17-1, 16 KO) will undoubtedly maul him if the fight happens, but our own Serragon has a plausible theory about how King will approach this. The WBA is theoretically next in line in the mandatory merry-go-round; Whyte is the WBC mando, Usyk was the WBO mando, and the IBF is still trying to slap a final eliminator together. I genuinely would not be surprised if King tried the same schtick again in an effort to get Bryan a cash-out fight with one of the major titlists.
Hell, the WBA already let him do it twice.
In addition, #3 Robert Helenius (31-3, 20 KO) has until that same date to face #4 Hughie Fury (26-3, 15 KO) in an eliminator. This looks a fair bit more competitive.