Anthony Joshua will face Daniel Dubois in an all-British heavyweight bout for the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium in September.
The more I see and hear about Oleksandr Usyk, the more I like him. He is not only a fantastic boxer, but he also brings a lot of good to our sport.
Anthony Joshua will face off against Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium
I appreciated his lighthearted donation of the IBF belt, which enabled the Anthony Joshua-Daniel Dubois fight at Wembley. He vacated to make space for the Tyson Fury rematch, of course. Nonetheless, his language displayed a mischievous side that I’m gradually coming to appreciate.
Usyk defeated Joshua and Dubois twice, thus he has the right to poke fun. There is no malice underneath. Furthermore, he has done us a favor by taking the risk, as Joshua would not have done so without the belt.
Traditionally, September marked the beginning of the boxing season. What a way to get the party started, a date fraught with danger for both parties, since the loser could easily be eliminated.
It depends on the type of the setback, but it is difficult to predict where Joshua will go if he suffers his fourth career defeat.
Dubois has fewer miles on the clock, but after two severe defeats to Joe Joyce and Usyk, he can’t afford another beating from Joshua if he wants a shot at the world crown.
As I explained here when the bout was first proposed, Joshua is the more complete fighter. He can box and bang. However, he is fragile, as demonstrated against Andy Ruiz; he was heavily injured, dropped, and would have been knocked out if the referee had not intervened.
Dubois has clearly improved. We can witness to this because we had a significant role in his development. He fell behind Filip Hrgovic this month but found a solution. He is still a bit one-dimensional. Explosive, yet moves slowly.
And there is speculation about Dubois following his defeat to Usyk. Despite having Usyk in greater danger than Joshua or Fury, he was unable to finish him.
When Usyk confronted him again, he was unable to cope, bringing up thoughts of his loss to Joyce. It could be different this time in front of a large crowd at Wembley Stadium, and this is an excellent opportunity for him to establish himself on the largest platform, to secure an important victory when it counts.
Similarly, if Joshua impresses, it lends credence to the notion that he is gaining real momentum toward that elusive showdown with Fury or trilogy bout with Usyk.
So it’s all to play for in front of a sold-out Wembley Stadium.