Joshua vs. Dubois Preview
Wembley Stadium in London, England will host a powerful heavyweight title fight on Saturday, September 21. English fighters Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua will do battle for Dubios’ IBF heavyweight belt.
Dubois (21-2, 20 KO) has looked impressive since coming up short in a title fight with Oleksandr Usyk a little over a year ago. He has won two straight by TKO over Jarrell Miller and most recently he defeated Filip Hrgovic in June for the interim IBF title. Dubois was later promoted to IBF champion after Usyk vacated the belt.
The 27-year-old knows he has something to prove against a worthy challenger such as Joshua. “I was down and now I’m coming back up. There’s a deeper meaning to it than just me and AJ in the ring. Everything’s on the line. Who’s got the stronger will, who’s really conquered their demons and who’s really ready to move forward and I believe that’s me and I’m ready to go out there and show it,” Dubois said.
Dubois is looking for a big result on Saturday. “I aim to knock him out. That’s the programme. That’s the mindset, that’s the intention coming into this fight. I’m going to focus my whole life into destroying it and just being a good destroyer, a good conqueror,” Dubois said.
Despite the criticism of Dubios’ durability, he vows to prove his critics wrong. "Don't wait. Go out there. Smash him.
"Go through them. Go through whatever I have to go through… No retreat, no surrender. And go out there and perform like a warrior,” said Dubois.
As it stands today, Hrgovic is Dubois’ biggest win. When he has faced top level competition, he has come up short. A win over a former champion such as Joshua will be the start he needs to entering him into the conversation of elite heavyweight boxers.
Joshua is a former two-time unified world champion having held the WBA (super), IBF, and WBO titles while holding the IBO title during his reign as well. He is currently on a four-fight winning streak since losing the titles to Usyk in 2021 and then falling short in a rematch in 2022. He most recently defeated former MMA champion Francis Ngannou by a devastating second round KO in March.
The 34-year-old has faced questions on where he is at in his career as he will turn 35 years old less than a month from Saturday. How much time does he feel he has left? “Loads,” he said. “It’s not the physical side; I’m strong as an Ox; I’m good. I’m fit, very fit. I’m pushing myself further. It’s just if I’m mentally hungry enough to do it, how long am I mentally ready to go into battle.”
The boxing community is talking about Joshua facing the winner of a rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury which is set to take place in December. Joshua commented, “Daniel Dubois is a big enough challenge as it is. Not thinking about Usyk, I am 100 per cent focused on the job at hand. I haven't had many distractions this time around and I am able to focus solely on Daniel Dubois. It's been a blessing,” said Joshua.
Joshua hopes to take the momentum of his last win into the fight on Saturday. “When you win, you’re on a high and you want to experience that. When you lose, you get low and it takes time to get balanced again. After the Ngannou fight, everything was good, you’re riding that wave. Hopefully we do that on Saturday as well. I’ve given Daniel respect in order to get the victory, Joshua said.
The former champion is one of the most popular British boxers of all-time and remains amongst the most popular today. As he faces a fellow Brit who will perform under the bright lights of Wembley stadium, Joshua talked about his popularity and whether Dubois owes him anything. “The only thing he owes me is a punch and that’s it,” he said. “I don’t want anything else from him. I don’t want his respect or anything else. I have to earn it if I want it. Everything I’ve done in the past, we have to draw a line under because I can’t take that with me on Saturday night. In that moment, [what happens in the ring] is all that matters.”
Joshua has key wins over Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph parker, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz Jr, Kubrat Pulev and Otto Wallin. For years he was linked to a unification fight with Deontay Wilder and a fight with fellow countryman Tyson Fury. Wilder has stated recently that he still wants a fight with Joshua despite the opinion that he should retire after going 1-4 in his last five fights while being KO’d badly in three of them. A Joshua win on Saturday and a Fury win in December could result in the fans finally seeing the two generational British heavyweights squaring off.
While fans may still be clamoring for a Joshua vs. Fury showdown, Dubois is also expected to face the winner of Usyk and Fury should he defeat Joshua. Dubois challenged Usyk for the titles in 2023 and while he was stopped by Usyk in the ninth round, it did not come without controversy. Dubois dropped Usyk in the fifth round with what initially looked to be a clean body shot but was ruled a low-blow by the referee. Usyk was given over eight minutes to recover, and the rest is history. With that said, both Dubois and Joshua are worthy of a fight wit either Usyk or Fury.
The undercard:
Hamzah Sheeraz -1000 vs. Tyler Denny +600, middleweights
Anthony Cacace -235 vs. Josh Warrington +185, junior lightweights
Joshua Buatsi -270 vs. Willy Hutchinson +215, light heavyweights
Josh Kelly -200 vs. Ishmael Davis +160, middleweights
Mark Chamberlain -1400 vs. Josh Padley +800, lightweights
