Anthony Joshua versus Daniel Dubois is a superb all-British heavyweight clash that takes place as part of Riyadh Season’s first UK promotional effort at Wembley in September.
It finds two boxers at a pivotal time in their careers. Hard-hitting Dubois is coming off the back of the two best wins of his campaign – both stoppages. Last December he overcame the volume punches of Jarrell Miller to finish the American in the last seconds of the 10th round, then stopped Fillip Hrgovic on a cut in March.
Those victories were much-needed after a setback loss to Joe Joyce early in his career and then being stopped by Oleksandr Usyk last August. Rightly or wrongly, both performances raised questions about the young fighter’s determination.
Meanwhile, after back-to-back defeats to Usyk left him without any belts, former two-time champion Joshua has beaten Robert Heinous, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou via knockout in the last 18 months.
Speaking to iFLTV, former heavyweight and sparring partner of ‘AJ’s, David Price, was asked if Dubois stood a chance in the fight.
Price has previously told the story of knocking a young Joshua out in sparring. ‘AJ’ later corroborated the session, adding the details that he had spent the previous night in jail. Price was in his early days as a pro at the time whilst Joshua was still an amateur on the GB Squad.
The fight is Dubois’s first defence as IBF World Champion after Usyk vacated so he could rematch Tyson Fury rather than face his mandatory.
