Anthony Joshua To Face Daniel Dubois For IBF Heavyweight Title At Wembley

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will face off for the IBF heavyweight belt on September 1 at Wembley Stadium. This comes after Oleksandr Usyk was forced to relinquish the title. The fight is the first Saudi Arabian-backed boxing promotion in the UK.

Usyk, who recently became the first man in 25 years to be crowned undisputed heavyweight champion, had to vacate the IBF belt due to mandatory defence requirements.

Dubois earned the interim IBF title earlier this month by defeating Croatian challenger Filip Hrgovic.

The 26-year-old Dubois, who is eight years younger than Joshua, expressed readiness for the fight at a heated press conference, saying: “This is my time and I’m taking over.”

Joshua, a two-time heavyweight champion, plans to bring his best performance to the ring, stating he would save his fire for the night of the contest.

He is aiming to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, adding to the excitement for the expected 90,000-capacity crowd at Wembley.

Joshua’s recent victories in Saudi Arabia against Otto Wallin and MMA heavyweight Francis Ngannou have set the stage for this significant bout.

Reflecting on the upcoming fight and his rivalry with Tyson Fury, Joshua said, “I’m glad Fury is not undisputed. Fury is an idiot, I’ve said it before. He’s very disrespectful. I’m here to put a good name on boxing, to carry myself in a certain way.”

The relinquishment of the IBF belt by Usyk, who still holds the WBO, WBA, and WBC titles, highlights the challenges faced by multi-belt champions in boxing. Despite the setback for Usyk, British fans eagerly anticipate the showdown between Joshua and Dubois at Wembley.