It will be an all-English bout when the two Londoners, Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua meet for the IBF heavyweight world title at Wembley Stadium in England on 21 September 2024. This will be the first time these two British boxers will cross paths with each other.
However, their story is years in the making. Frank Warren, the English boxing manager and promoter, revealed that the two fighters had an unofficial match years ago.
According to Warren, in 2016, Dubois, who was 18 years old, knocked out Joshua at the GB Performance Institute. This was the time when Joshua had just become the heavyweight world champion. Joshua has denied any such incident but has regarded the ‘Dynamite’ (as Dubois is popularly known) as a serious contender.
Dubois was with the Great Britain Olympic boxing team and was expected to compete at the 2020 Olympics. However, he chose to turn professional instead and currently holds a 95% knockout-to-win percentage in his 23 fights so far.
Joshua won the gold medal at the London Olympics 2012 in the super-heavyweight category, after which he chose to turn pro. He will come to this fight with a four-match winning streak. In his last four outings, he defeated Francis Ngannou (Cameroon), Otto Wallin (Sweden), Robert Helenius (Finland), and Jermaine Franklin (USA).
In his career so far, Joshua has lost just three bouts in 31 fights. Two out of these three losses have come against Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk, the Ukranian heavyweight boxer, became the undisputed heavyweight champion earlier this year.
The winner of this match will face the winner of the rematch between Usyk and Tyson Fury in December this year. Both Dubois and Joshua have an interesting history with Usyk that we’ll discuss further in this piece.
Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua: Meet the Fighters
Dubois has a two-match winning streak to his name. In his last fight, he defeated Filip Hrgović of Croatia and won the interim IBF heavyweight title in March this year. In June, Usyk decided to vacate his IBF belt which meant Dubois became the IBF heavyweight world champion.
Dubois lost to Usyk in August last year at Stadion Wrocław in Poland. It was his first world title challenge match. Dubois has fought at Wembley Stadium only once in his illustrated career so far. The match was against Ghana’s Richard Lartey, and Dubois claimed the vacant WBO Global heavyweight title. He knocked out Lartey in the fourth round of the fight.
Joshua has been on an unbeaten streak since April last year when he beat Jermain Franklin by unanimous decision. The victory came after Joshua had lost to Usyk twice in two years. The only other loss for Joshua came at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. However, he managed to defeat Ruiz in a rematch via unanimous decision.
In his last fight, he faced the Cameroonian-French boxer and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou in March this year at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. He knocked down Ngannou in the first round and won by second-round knockout.
He will be returning to Wembley Stadium after nearly four years. In his last bout at Wembley, Joshua knocked down Bulgaria’s Kubrat Pulev and successfully defended the IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight championships in December 2020.
Daniel Dubois Stats
| Weight class: | Heavyweight |
| Weight: | 111.6 kg (246 lbs) |
| Height: | 196 cm (6’5”) |
| Record: | 21-2-0 (win-loss-draw) |
| Nickname: | Dynamite and Triple D |
| Last fight: | 1 June, 2024 / win |
| Last opponent: | Filip Hrgović |
| DOB: | 6 September 1997 (26 years old) |
| Country: | England |
| Reach: | 78 in |
| Stance: | Orthodox |
Anthony Joshua Stats
| Weight class: | Heavyweight |
| Weight: | 114.5 kg (252.4lbs) |
| Height: | 198 cm (6’6”) |
| Record: | 28-3-0 (win-loss-draw) |
| Nickname: | AJ |
| Last fight: | 8 March, 2024 / won |
| Last opponent: | Francis Ngannou |
| DOB: | 15 October 1989 (34 years old) |
| Country: | England |
| Reach: | 82 in |
| Stance: | Orthodox |
Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua: What To Expect
Both fighters will be ready to give each other a tough fight the moment the bell rings at Wembley Stadium on the night of September 21. This fight will provide Joshua with an opportunity to claim the title of a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Both Dubois and Joshua have come short against Usyk in their careers so far. A win here will give them a chance to face Usyk if he manages to defeat Fury in his rematch.
Joshua is a two-time unified world heavyweight champion and has held every world title throughout his career, except for the WBC belt. He has participated in 12 world title fights, securing victory in nine of them. The Londoner has achieved success in his last four bouts, with three of those wins coming by way of stoppage.
Joshua will also be looking to put the rumors to rest that an 18-year-old Dubois had knocked him down.
Joshua was at the ringside when Dubois fought Hrgović in his last bout probably to up his game plan. Hrgović had dominated Dubois with his right hand whenever he got any opening. Joshua had defeated Ngannou in his last fight with the right hand as well.
At the age of 26, Dubois has proved that he can compete with the best the business has to offer. He is coming to this fight with two wins in a row against Filip Hrgović and Jarrell Miller. Out of his 21 wins so far in his career, 20 wins have come with a knockout. He will have to work on some of the mistakes that he has committed in the past which can work against him in this fight.
Undercard Fights of the Night
- Hamzah Sheeraz v Tyler Denny (European middleweight title)
- Liam Smith v Josh Kelly (light-middleweight)
- Joshua Buatsi v Willy Hutchinson (WBO interim light-heavyweight title)
- Anthony Cacace v Josh Warrington (IBF super-featherweight title)
- Mark Chamberlain v Josh Padley (lightweight)
7Bet Odds
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