The two-time world champion will face his compatriot Daniel Dubois in London on Saturday.
Suddenly, Anthony Joshua’s fuses blew. He would “slam this chair over the face” of his opponent Daniel Dubois, the former world boxing champion warned, if he did not stop provoking him. After a brief exchange of words, both fighters jumped up and had to be separated by their promoters. Now, almost three months after this memorable interview, they meet again in the ring.
Joshua is under a great deal of pressure. In front of 96,000 people at Wembley Stadium in London, he wants to finally celebrate his heavyweight resurrection by winning the IBF world title on Saturday (11:00 p.m./DAZN Pay-per-View). He was already world champion twice, but was twice bitterly dethroned. The time of the man who had retired Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 and was to become the next Muhammad Ali seemed to be over.
But with four convincing wins in a row, the 34-year-old, who has 28 wins and three losses in 31 fights, has once again earned himself a world championship fight. This was made possible by the fact that the previously undisputed world champion Alexander Usyk has retired the IBF belt in order to fight Tyson Fury for the title at the end of the year. Dubois, previously IBF interim champion, was promoted to regular world champion.
Strictly speaking, Joshua is therefore the challenger in the British duel. But against the 27-year-old Dubois, who has won 21 of his 23 fights (two losses), everything is focused on “AJ”. As a three-time heavyweight world champion, he would join boxing greats like Ali, Evander Holyfield and Lennox Lewis. “It’s good to be back,” said Joshua. “I’m ready to fight and remind everyone what I’m capable of.”
While Joshua (2021 and 2022) and Dubois (2023) had both lost to Usyk in the past, the winner of the fight could face a rematch with the Ukrainian. Or with Fury. British boxing fans have been longing for the big clash between Joshua and the “Gypsy King” for years.