WBA "regular" heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois is hoping that a deal can be finalized to make the first defense of his recently acquired title against Dillian Whyte.

Dubois has been eager to face Whyte since 2020 - when Whyte openly labeled him as a quitter with respect to the stoppage loss to Joe Joyce.

Back in June, Dubois traveled to the United States to capture the WBA strap with a knockout of then undefeated Trevor Bryan.

Whyte has been out of the ring since April, when he suffered a knockout loss at the hands of WBC world champion Tyson Fury.

According to Dubois, his handlers are currently trying to lock in Whyte as his next opponent.

"I'm very excited about it. I really want to fight him [Whyte]. If that is the next one then I'm all up for it. It's the next step in my career and the next step to big names and big fights," Dubois said to The UniBet Lowdown.

"This is the fight that can take me to the next level, with Dillian Whyte or any of those names. I need to fight him and I need to beat him. These guys saying I am a quitter. I want to get in the ring and show them how much of a quitter I am.

"I want to make them quit. If they can make the fight happen, then make the fight happen. It's what I want now just to shut them all up and all the guys that have something to say I'll deal with them. It's now or never. This is the prime of my life."