Israel Adesanya has thrown his support and his bets behind Anthony Joshua! The British boxing star is set to take on Daniel Dubois for the IBF world heavyweight title. The location? Wembley Stadium. The spectacular arena is set to host Riyadh Season: Joshua vs. Dubois, a fight that has boxing fans buzzing.

Dubois was initially the interim IBF champion but was promoted to full champion in June 2024 after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt. The bout will be Joshua’s thirteenth world title fight and there’s already a score to settle between the two fighters! Years ago, Dubois landed a solid punch on Joshua during sparring, and rumors of that moment have followed them both.

In a recent post made on his Instagram account, Israel Adesanya shared an image of him with Joshua with the caption, “OGUN!! This fight got beef… grab the @stake sauce.” ‘The Last Stylebender’ also posted an image of his bet on Joshua’s victory with a $10,000 stake and an estimated $50,000 payout on the line.

This won’t be the first time the former UFC middleweight champion has backed Joshua. For those unaware, in 2023 when Joshua faced off against Otto Wallin, Adesanya had bet $10,000 on the British boxer and it came through as Wallin’s corner decided to throw in the towel after Round 5. So, will history repeat itself this time? Or is a ‘curse’ looming over Anthony Joshua? Let’s take a look at what the netizens think about it!

Israel Adesanya backs Anthony Joshua but haunting memory of the “Drake Curse” causes fans to be wary

While Israel Adesanya’s continued support for Anthony Joshua is a heartwarming sight, fans were left wishing that ‘The Last Stylebender’ would have won his last outing inside the Octagon: “I wish Izzy won UFC 305.” At UFC 305, he attempted to regain his middleweight title from Dricus Du Plessis but suffered the first submission loss of his career as he got caught by ‘Stillknocks’ in a face-crank/rear naked choke in the fourth round.

Others were more skeptical at the $10,000 bet Adesanya placed on Joshua as they claimed that the British boxer wasn’t losing to an opponent from the same country: “Just 10k you gotta bet a house lol he ain’t losing to a British opponent.” A bold claim for sure, but is there any truth to it? Well, a quick glance at Joshua’s record shows only 3 losses, 2 to Oleksandr Usyk, a Ukrainian, and 1 to Andy Ruiz Jr. a Mexican-American fighter.

The infamous ‘Drake Curse’ also reared its head in the comments section, as one fan wrote, “Bro carries the drake curse on.” The bizarre phenomenon pops up anytime the Canadian music star places a bet on an athlete or a sports team to win. Anthony Joshua might be familiar with it as in his clash against former UFC heavyweight champion, Francis Ngannou, Drake had picked ‘The Predator’ to win. The result? A reported loss of $615,000 for the rapper as Joshua knocked out Ngannou in the second round! But could Adesanya’s bet come back to haunt Joshua this time instead? 

However, some fans weren’t too keen on Adesanya’s bet, as one wrote: “Everyone you bet on gets whammed.” While he’s definitely had the right pick in the past during Joshua vs. Wallin, there was also a massive setback. ‘The Last Stylebender’ lost $20,000 when he bet on Devin Haney to beat Ryan Garcia earlier this year via knockout. But the fight went the distance and Garcia even managed three knockdowns before being declared the winner via a majority decision but it was later overturned into a no-contest. 

Others laid out their own predictions as they claimed that Joshua has the edge due to his defensive skills when compared to Dubois: “I think it’ll end first half and will come down to whoever lands a crisp, flush right hand first. Picking Joshua though, Dubois kisses too many fists.”

To wrap things up, as Israel Adesanya throws his weight—and his wallet—behind Anthony Joshua, fans are buzzing with excitement and skepticism alike. With a $10,000 bet riding on Joshua’s victory against Daniel Dubois, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Has the ‘Drake Curse’ been carried over to Israel Adesanya? Or will Anthony Joshua lay to rest the sparring ‘beef’ from years ago? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!