Daniel Dubois was elevated to the status of IBF heavyweight champion after the former undisputed champion of the division Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt. Usyk couldn’t defend the title against Dubois on time as he was contractually obligated to fight Tyson Fury again in a rematch on December 21, 2024. Interestingly, the British boxer became the No. 1 contender for the IBF after defeating Filip Hrgovich in June this year. Subsequently, the belt fell into his lap, and he became the IBF heavyweight champion.

However, Dubois’ very first title defense would be a tough task. The challenger—the former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, is hungry to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. The tense pre-fight build-up adds another layer of intrigue to an all-British heavyweight showdown at the Wembley Stadium on September 21. It all kicked off in the face-to-face chat in June where AJ brutally shut down Dubois, who was eager to throw down then and there. “I’ll throw this f***ing chair across your face. Don’t disrespect me,” Joshia said angrily. Both fighters almost came to blows. As a result, the security had to step in to separate the two blood-thirsty pugilists.

Now, with the date of the clash inching closer, the ‘Dynamite’ has sounded off on AJ for his “disrespect” remark during the face-off. “Disrespect is not the right word, is it? We’re in boxing,” the 26-year-old fighter stated in an interview with Queensbury Promotions. He further conveyed to Joshua that respect should be left at the door when getting into a fight with someone.

“Is there respect in that ring? At the end of the day, this is a fight. If you want respect go and become a lawyer or a doctor,” Dubois stated solemnly. “This is a fight game and you know I’m ready, 100% ready, to just go out there and fight now.” Seems the two British boxing stars are going into the fight with the clear intention to hurt one another.

On the other hand, Anthony Joshua too will be heading into the Dubois fight with bad intentions as he has plans to reach the very top of the heavyweight division, once again.

The road to undisputed is clear!

The battle with Dubois is crucial in determining whether Joshua could become an undisputed champion. A win against the Greenwich native would set Joshua up nicely to face the winner of the Usyk-Fury clash in December.

“All he’s got on his mind is Dubois. Obviously, winning the world heavyweight title, but I know that if he wins September 21, the only fight he will want is the winner of Usyk-Fury,” AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn stated.

“He’s always wanted to fight Fury, he’ll definitely do it, but when the decision is read out on December 21 he will want the winner of that fight because he’s only one fight away from being undisputed himself,” The Matchroom Boxing head added.

It is quite evident that AJ won’t hesitate to face Oleksandr Usyk for the third time provided ‘The Cat’ wins the rematch against Fury. Notably, Joshua lost his unified heavyweight title to Usyk in 2021. The rematch the following year also yielded the same result.

Nevertheless, do you think Daniel Dubois has what it takes to stop Anthony Joshua from becoming a three-time heavyweight champion? Or, do you think AJ’s prior experience in handling these big-occasion title fights would help him defeat Dubois? Let us know in the comment section below.