ANTHONY Joshua and Daniel Dubois will fight in Wembley Stadium on September 21 in a giant all-British heavyweight dust-up. Dubois enters as the full IBF champion after his interim status was upgraded.
Early forecasts suggest that over 90,000 spectators will pack into the venue to witness the spectacle as Matchroom and Queensberry once again combine to bring together two of the division’s premium operators.
Dubois, 26, has recovered from double setbacks to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk, respectively, to post a career-best win over Filip Hrgovic, thus cementing his place firmly in the heavyweight picture.
Joshua, 34, has also lost to Usyk (twice) and suffered a shock 2019 loss to Andy Ruiz, which he later avenged in Saudi Arabia. Now, the Riyadh Season roadshow lands in Wembley.
26 June 2024. Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
While Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) has won various minor belt versions of the world title in the ring, beating Joshua would add the first stellar name to his record.
26 June 2024. Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
Victory for Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) would put him in line to fight the winner of Usyk-Fury 2, which takes place later in the year, earning the former unified king another monster payday and a crack at finally becoming the undisputed ruler.
Dubois will enter the contest as the full IBF title holder, making his first defence after Oleksandr Usyk officially vacated his belt yesterday.
The IBF were already putting pressure on Usyk to defend against mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic, who lost to Dubois on the June 1 card in Riyadh, where five of Matchroom and Queensberry’s best boxers squared off.
Usyk undisputedly confirmed his status as the best heavyweight on the planet by beating Tyson Fury on May 18. Taking the IBF belt off him does nothing to change that, especially given the fact that he has already beaten Daniel Dubois, who now holds the full version of his old strap.
At this afternoon’s press conference, the undercard was also announced, with Liam Smith taking on Josh Kelly and newly-crowned IBF super-featherweight titlist Anthony Cacace defending his belt against former champion Josh Warrington.
Fresh from his European title win over Felix Cash, middleweight Tyler Denny will box Hamzah Sheeraz, who was last seen stopping Austin Williams in Saudi Arabia.
Two more Saudi success stories return to action as Willy Hutchinson fights Joshua Buatsi and Mark Chamberlain tackles Josh Padley.
