Anthony Joshua will take on fellow Brit Daniel Dubois this Saturday night in a blockbuster world title fight at Wembley Stadium. We have taken a look at the latest odds and given a verdict on who we think will have their hand raised when all is said and done.
AJ has the opportunity to become a three-time heavyweight champion of the world as Dubois puts his IBF belt on the line. Dubois is coming off a good win against Filip Hrgović in June, and was given the title after it was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk said the belt was his “present” to Dubois.
This clash sees two fighters who are at different stages of their careers going head-to-head, with the mouth-watering prospect of a bout against Usyk or Tyson Fury the reward for the winner.
Fight Details
Date: Saturday, 21st September, Main Event Ring Walks expected 10.30 pm
Venue: Wembley Stadium
Titles: IBF Heavyweight Title
Things to Look for
Let’s start with the favourite, Joshua, who comes into this one in good form. He got rid of UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in March in no time, delivering a huge knockout in round 2 in Riyadh, even though many believed AJ would find it difficult against the man who caused Tyson Fury a lot of problems. That performance followed a convincing win for AJ against the awkward Otto Wallin in December, who had also caused Fury some issues when they clashed.
In both of those fights, it looked like the old AJ was coming back, as he started to let his hands go with both opponents not able to handle the vicious combinations he was throwing. However, Dubois is a big step up in class, so will AJ continue to throw caution to the wind and be aggressive, or will he be a bit more shot-shy which he has been accused of in the past?
Another thing to watch out for is how Dubois handles the occasion. Joshua has a lot more experience of the big nights and bright lights than Dubois, and it will be a big test for the younger fighter who will have to deal with all of the media attention of fight week and then 96,000 screaming fans inside Wembley.
AJ has been there and worn the T-Shirt. He defeated Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley in 2017, knocking out the Ukrainian great to become unified champion. In fact, AJ has won all four of his fights at this venue, with the most recent of those coming in December 2020 against Kubrat Pulev.
Fight Prediction & Betting Pick
I really can’t see this one going the distance. Both of these guys hit hard and it wouldn’t surprise me if both score knockdowns at some stage. I am intrigued to see how Dubois approaches this as the champion and the more inexperienced fighter. Will he start captiously and try and work his way into the contest, or will he just throw bombs from the first bell? He is the underdog in this fight but will be feeling confident and knows AJ can be vulnerable.
For Joshua, this is a great chance to get back some gold and I think it is a chance he will take. Since linking up with trainer Ben Davison, he looks much more like his old self. I can see him knocking down Dubois a few times before stopping him in the first half of the fight, setting up a potential blockbuster against Fury.
