Anthony Joshua faces Daniel Dubois on September 21 in a bid to become a three-time heavyweight champion.
The circumstances have seen Dubois, 26, elevated to IBF World Champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt having held onto it since 2021.
Both men’s most notable opponent in common is the Ukrainian, who beat Joshua twice over the distance to retain and defend his titles and stopped Dubois the year later to keep hold of them.
As such, Usyk, with his elite boxing brain and experience of both men in the ring, is well-placed to pick a winner. Speaking to Boxing King Media, the recently undisputed champion backed ‘AJ.’
The bookmakers agree that Joshua is most likely to get the win at Wembley Stadium, but Dubois and his team are confident they can force a changing of the guard on the British heavyweight scene.
Promoter Frank Warren believes it comes down to ‘the battle of the jabs’ and backs his man to hurt the more-experienced Joshua, however many feel the way Dubois fought in his last outing – a win over Filip Hrgovic – could see him hurt early against the big-hitting former champion.
As for Usyk, he will rematch Tyson Fury in December, this time only for three of the four belts. There is talk of the winners of the two bouts being matched-up in 2025 but that will depend largely on who and how.
The most lucrative outcome for the promotion would be for ‘AJ’ to get the better of Dubois and Fury to get revenge against Usyk, setting up a long-awaited all-British grudge match.
