Tag: Anthony Joshua

Former heavyweight champion Anthony Olufemi Joshua is aiming to become world champion once again, this time in his 13th  world title bout, against fellow Briton Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium tomorrow’s night, writes OLUWAMAYOMIKUN OREKOYA.

Anthony Joshua had lost his heavyweight belts Oleksandr Usyk in a pair of fights in 2021 and 2022. Usyk later beat Daniel Dubois in Poland a year ago.

Joshua had marched back up the heavyweight ranks after suffering two consecutive losses to Usyk, who went on to become the undisputed world champion with his stunning victory over Tyson Fury last year.

He returned with a points win over Jermaine Franklin in 2023, but then followed up with stoppage victories over Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin later that year.

Dubois won the interim IBF title by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June, six months after beating Jarrell Miller in the final seconds of their fight.

Joshua insisted that he is “willing to die” against his fellow Londoner.

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“This is the thing with fighting: it takes more than being strong to be a champion and a good fighter,” he said. “It’s good, but I truly believe from what I have read and studied – and from what great people who have come before me have said – it takes more than being a physical specimen to be a fighter.

Daniel Dubois, the underdog in this contest, says he is out to prove his worth and cement his name as the IBF champion when he faces Anthony Joshua in London on tomorrow.

Daniel Dubois was awarded the IBF heavyweight belt in June after then-undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk relinquished it and Dubois will defend it against fellow British boxer Anthony Joshua

Daniel Dubois did not have to dethrone anyone to become a world heavyweight champion, so he has something to prove when he makes his first title defence before one of the biggest crowds in British boxing history.

If successfully defends his IBF belt on Saturday by beating fellow Briton Anthony Joshua in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Dubois might just transform himself into boxing’s next big thing.

“I am getting used to the idea that I am the champion but I think I need to legitimize it by beating AJ,” Dubois said in a recent interview. “That’s the way I do it and cement my name, cement my legacy in the sport of boxing.”

But the hard-punching Dubois – a South London native who has been boxing since the age of seven – has plans of his own to defeat the former champion.

“Make him quit, break him down, unleash hell on him,” Dubois said of his strategy for fight night.

Dubois added that it is his time for a shot at the heavyweight title. Seven years younger than Joshua, Dubois has won six of his previous seven fights. After losing to Usyk, over a year ago, he has defeated Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic in Riyadh.

“This is my time now, and I am ready to take it with both hands, show the world what I’m all about,” he said.

“I’m ready to fight so I’m in a good place at the moment,” he added. “I know I need to go to another level, my very best, I can’t wait for the challenge on Saturday.

“I’ve just worked hard in the gym. I’ve suffered and worked really hard for weeks and months so I’m just ready to fight now.”

ANTHONY JOSHUA

Age: 34

Nickname: AJ

Height: 6ft 6ins

Reach: 82ins

Trainer: Ben Davison

Fights: 31

Wins: 28

Draws: 0

Defeats: 3

Knockouts: 25

Last Fight: Second-round stoppage vs. Francis Ngannou (March 2024)

DANIEL DUBOIS

Age: 27

Nickname: Dynamite

Height: 6ft 5ins

Reach: 78ins

Trainer: Don Charles

Fights: 23

Wins: 21

Draws: 0

Defeats: 2

Knockouts: 20

Last Fight: Eight-round stoppage vs. Filip Hrgovic (June 2024)

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois faced off on the banks of the River Thames, going head-to-head for the first time in the week ahead of their IBF heavyweight world title fight.

At Monday’s face off Joshua, scowling in the sunshine, marched straight up to Dubois and, unblinking, glared down at his young rival.

Both have well-deserved reputations as fearsome punchers. But Dubois is looking for something more in this fight. He doesn’t just want to win by knockout. He wants to inflict something on his opponent which, for a boxer, is worse than that. He wants to make Joshua quit.

“I’ve got to make him quit, break him down, That’s my mindset going into this. Making him quit, breaking him,” Dubois told Sky Sports. “I believe I can.”

Quitting was an allegation thrown at Dubois after his defeat to Joe Joyce. It’s a criticism of his character that he has been fighting to dispel ever since.

For him the sweetest victory of all would be to enforce an ending of that nature in the highest-profile event of his boxing life. For Dubois that would be a kind of cruel redemption.

“I’m turning it round now at this stage of my career. I’ve come through my ups and downs, just turning it round,” Dubois said.

“Enjoy the moment, let all the talking be done, let all the statements be made. I’m in a good place right now and I’m ready to fight.”

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Joshua and Dubois had to be separated earlier in the promotion when an altercation threatened to take place at a joint interview.

The animosity still seemed to simmer between them at the stare down. “I looked into his eyes, and I don’t know, I’m so used to it now. It’s part of the game,” Dubois said.

He’s adamant that Joshua’s team are underestimating him. 

“Of course they are, he’s going to be in for the shock of his life,” Dubois said.

“Seize the moment. It will all become real. Enough of the thinking, enough of the talking.”

But he is happy enough to be perceived as the underdog. “I still have that mindset, I’m still like that. Everyone wants to see the underdog come through and come out on top,” he said. “I’m the underdog and I love playing that role, make it another night to remember.”

The tension between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will only heighten in the days leading up to their IBF heavyweight world title fight at Wembley Stadium.

Joshua and Dubois had to be separated when the promotion got under way with Frank Warren finding himself between the two giants as security guards held them back during a head-to-head interview.

The promoter expects the atmosphere to remain tense over the course of the week.

“Fight week, everybody is on edge. These guys are jumping out of their skin and as fit as they’re ever going to be,” Warren told Sky Sports News. “They know what’s at stake. It’s pretty much a mental game now. Each of them will be trying to get an edge mentally.

“I’m sure something will be said, because that’s the nature of the business.

“Whatever is said, at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. What does matter is Saturday night when they step into the ring.

“When the first bell goes is when you get down to the serious business. When you’re getting hit.”

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn was also present for the near-altercation. “It’s a bit unusual for AJ,” he told Sky Sports News.

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“When someone confronts him like that, when someone lays down the gauntlet to fight, whether it’s in the ring or to fight now, this is what he does. He hasn’t lost that mentality. Daniel Dubois kind of stuck it on him in this incident and said ‘we can fight now’, and then up they got.

“At this point you want to try and get in the middle [but] these are two absolute giants and when they start trading punches, well firstly you need to get out the way, but secondly they are ready to fight.

“AJ’s ready to fight at any moment. He was pumped up then, he’s pumped up now.”

Warren is convinced it will make for a special night at Wembley Stadium.

“An all-British affair. There is nothing more exciting than when two Brits fight, you can look back through the years,” he said.

“As for the crowd, we expect there to be over 94,000 there and records to be broken. It will be electric.”

The fight itself should match the occasion. “Dubois is a young man,” Warren said, “and he’s going in with a guy who’s got impeccable credentials in AJ, an Olympic gold medallist and done everything asked of him up to this point as a professional. He’s a two-time world champion and going for his third crack at the title.

“Everyone is excited about the fight due to the styles of the fighters. As they say, styles make fights.

“These guys are both walk-forward fighters who throw big bombs. You’re going to get an exciting fight.”

British heavyweight Anthony Joshua is hoping  to fight at Wembley Stadium in September.

The 34-year-old stopped Francis Ngannou in March in his last fight, his fourth win in a row.

Matchroom are planning an event at Wembley and Joshua said it would be on either 20 or 21 September.

“Whenever they tell me there’s a date, you know I’ll be ready 100%,” Joshua told TalkSport., “It’s going be in London, Wembley Stadium.”

Joshua could fight the winner of Daniel Dubois v Filip Hrgovic or Deontay Wilder v Zhilei Zhang.

All four heavyweights fight on 1 June as part Matchroom Boxing’s five-versus-five card against Queensberry Promotions in Saudi Arabia.

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Joshua was set to fight Wilder last March before the American suffered a shock loss to Joseph Parker in December.

The Londoner fought MMA fighter-turned-boxer Ngannou instead and knocked him out in two rounds in a dominant performance.

Wilder, 38, decided against retiring in the wake of his last defeat and said a future fight with Joshua can still happen.

“People are always going to want to see that fight no matter what,” Wilder told BBC Sport. “I put it in the high 90s [percentage chance of happening].”

Anthony Joshua had his fair share of doubters before stepping in the ring with former UFC superstar Francis Ngannou on Friday in Saudi Arabia, but he quickly silenced the naysayers with an epic second-round knockout.

The winner of this fight will likely take on the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, which AJ said he’s more than prepared for.

Anthony Joshua certainly has revenge on his mind if it is Usyk up next because the Ukrainian beat him in back-to-back fights. As for Fury, AJ has never faced him but the two have went back and forth about a potential bout for years. Eddie Hearn, who is the promoter for Joshua, will be the one to make a Usyk or Fury fight happen next and expressed his confidence in Joshua.

The Englishman really looked good against Ngannou, a guy who fave the Gypsy King a run for his money. AJ landed several big shots on the Cameroonian, with the right hook in the second round proving to be the difference-maker.

That’s now four wins in a row for Anthony Joshua, who is in fantastic form right now. AJ was extremely classy after knocking out Ngannou, telling him he’s a gift to boxing and even saying he wants to donate money to Ngannou’s foundation.

At 34, the opportunity to become a heavyweight champ is slowly slipping away. This is likely Joshua’s last chance if he does clash with whoever comes out victorious between Fury and Usyk. That bout takes place on May 18th.

AJ said: “This is the thing with boxing, it only takes one shot in the heavyweight division,” said Joshua.

“You should always keep searching for better. For me, I don’t know if I’m coming into my peak, I’m pushing day by day.

“Who knows where it will take me. Imagine in five years I won’t be fighting any more, this will all be said and done, so I’m trying to make the most of it.”

Asked if his target is the Fury vs Usyk winner, Joshua said: “Yes it is!”

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn echoed this challenge, saying: “You are looking at the baddest man on the planet. The No 1 heavyweight in the world.

“There’s a brilliant fighter down there in Tyson Fury. Please beat Oleksandr Usyk, because you will get the biggest fight of all time.”

“It’s not that satisfying, it is what it is,” said Joshua. “My life doesn’t really change. You realise how much your life changes when you lose, when you win it’s onto the next.

“I questioned myself. It’s a tough game, the heavyweight division. We got the job done, people can question me, I do my best every time, but I’m not even buzzing about the win, onto the next, let’s go.

“With Ngannou tonight, if I was the old AJ, it would have been strength versus strength, a fight that would have taken years out of my career, but because of my progression, the sacrifice I’ve made, I’ve been able to go in there and take little punishment.

“You have to be a student of the game to put on performances like that. It doesn’t do much for my career.”

Referring to Fury and Usyk, he added: “If they want me they can come knocking at my door. I just want to be my best each and every time. Nothing changes for me.

“If they do knock on the door, I say let’s go.”

Joshua halted Francis Ngannou’s nascent climb to crossover stardom Friday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, defeating the mixed martial arts star via second-round knockout.

Joshua (28-3, 25 knockouts) made quick work of Ngannou, ending the fight with a massive right overhand that knocked the Cameroonian out cold. Ngannou (0-2, 17-3 in MMA) was fighting in his second professional boxing match after claiming the UFC heavyweight crown .

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“It is what it is,” Joshua said on the DAZN broadcast after the match. “When I saw the fight between Francis and Tyson Fury, I realized he could fight. And I wanted a piece of that. He’s an inspiration. He’s a great champion and this result doesn’t take anything away from his capabilities.”

Ngannou’s October bout against Fury, the World Boxing Council heavyweight champion, went decidedly different. The 37-year-old MMA star entered that match as a substantial underdog but dropped a stunned Fury with a left hook in the third round. After 10 frames, Fury escaped with a controversial split decision victory on the scorecards.

Ngannou had said boxing was his first love before he discovered MMA. But that showing in his professional boxing debut sparked excitement.

He landed a powerful right jab to drop Ngannou late in the first round. Joshua connected with the right hand to drop him again in the second round.

Seconds after Ngannou returned to his feet, Joshua delivered a crushing right overhand that flattened his opponent on the canvas. Ngannou was given oxygen by the ringside doctors and regained consciousness.

“I told him he shouldn’t leave boxing,” Joshua said of Ngannou. “He can do well.

He’s fought two of the best.”

For Ngannou, a decisive defeat potentially bruises his chances of a rematch against Fury, who is scheduled to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 for the undisputed heavyweight title. After leaving the UFC for the rival Professional Fighters League last year, Ngannou is scheduled to return to the cage to face Renan Ferreira in what will be his PFL debut and his first MMA bout since January 2022.

“My team will shape my future,” Joshua said. “I’m just here to fight. I will go back to my cage and lock myself away and I will come back when it’s time to fight”