Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois Preview
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois clash in a battle of Brits for the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on September 21st. Dubois won the interim IBF belt against Filip Hrgovic before being elevated to full champ when Oleksandr Usyk vacated.
AJ is on a four-fight tear since his second loss to Usyk in 2022. The former unified champion has his eyes set on a trilogy with the Ukrainian or a mega-fight with Tyson Fury. Can Dynamite send AJ to the back of the line and claim the biggest victory of his career, or will Joshua fight his way back into the world title picture?
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois Head-To-Head and Key Stats
Anthony Joshua has had a tumultuous time in the ring over the last five years. The Olympic gold medallist had the world at his feet in 2019. He was the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight champion after winning unification bouts against Joseph Parker and the legendary Wladimir Klitschko. A mega-fight with Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder looked on the horizon with AJ expected to get through American Jarrell Miller at Madison Square Garden with few issues on his US debut. Miller dropped out after a failed drug test and relative unknown Andy Ruiz Jr. stepped in. The Mexican-American shocked the world, knocking Joshua out in the seventh round to cause one of the biggest upsets in boxing history and snatch AJ’s belts.
Joshua recovered in December of the same year with a professional yet somewhat disappointing unanimous decision victory in the rematch to reclaim his belts. He followed up with a KO victory over Kubrat Pulev before facing mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk. AJ fell victim to another upset. Usyk performed spectacularly to secure a unanimous decision win before defeating him in the rematch. Joshua went from being arguably the best heavyweight in the world to a 2-3 record in five fights in three short years.
The Watford-born heavy hitter has been on a redemption arc ever since, winning his last four fights with three stoppages. He most recently faced former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a special attraction fight at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on March 8th. AJ showed the levels between both fighters, knocking the Cameroonian out in the second round after three knockdowns. That took his record to 28-3 with 25 knockouts for an impressive KO rate of 89.29%. Joshua has been knocked out once in his career.
Daniel Dubois is in a different stage of his career to Anthony Joshua. At 27, Dynamite is seven years his junior and is looking to make the step to the world stage with a victory over his countryman. However, Dubois’s two career losses have come with significant criticism. He first lost in 2020 to fellow Brit Joe Joyce. Dubois took a knee in the 10th round after Joyce’s powerful jabs swelled shut his eye. He allowed the ref to count him out and took his first loss to bring his record to 15-1.
Dynamite went on a four-fight tear following that loss. He KO/TKO’d all of his opponents and won and defended the WBA (regular) heavyweight title. That earned him a fight against the unified world champion and British-boxing bogeyman Oleksandr Usyk. Dubois took the second loss of his career in the same manner as his first, taking a knee in the ninth round and not answering the count. However, there was controversy around Dubois’ supposed low blow in the fifth. Usyk took a knee and 3:45 seconds to recover, but many, including Dubois, believed the punch to be legal. Regardless, his two losses have led to many branding Dubois as a ‘quitter’.
The Londoner has been back to his best since then. He has won his last two fights via TKO, most recently facing Filip Hrgović at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on June 1. In the biggest win of his career so far, Dubois forced a doctors stoppage in the eighth round to claim the vacant IBF interim heavyweight title, later elevated to full champion. Dubois is now 21-2 through 23 career fights and has a near-pristine KO rate of 95.24% (20 in 21).
Joshua and Dubois share two opponents in common. They both lost to Oleksandr Usyk and beat Kevin Johnson early in their careers. AJ has a significant reach advantage over Dubois. The former unified heavyweight champion stands at 6’6” with an 82” with Dubois 6’5” with a 78” reach.
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois Predictions
Fight prediction: Anthony Joshua to win by KO/TKO
Anthony Joshua has regained his confidence in the four fights since his second loss to Usyk. He has gone through a renaissance under new trainer Ben Davison. AJ destroyed Otto Wallin systematically before disposing of Francis Ngannou as if he were an amateur. Daniel Dubois has had his critics in recent years, but defied them to overcome Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic and prove he is worthy of his IBF belt. He has bags of power and Joshua can’t afford to get into a firefight, but AJ has proven his composure in his recent fights as well as reiterating his power when pressuring his opponent. Our boxing prediction is for Anthony Joshua to win via KO/TKO against his countryman.
Daniel Dubois has folded under pressure against two opponents. Usyk and Joyce exposed his defence with their jab and forced him to retire. He even looked overwhelmed against Hrgovic before regaining control. Joshua holds more power than all those men. AJ will pressure Dubois and the damage will pile up. He looks more confident than ever and appears to have overcome his tendency to retreat. Dubois leaves too many openings, and a power puncher like AJ will make him pay.
Both fighters have impressive resumes, but Joshua’s is more inspiring. He has victories over former world champions like Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and the legendary Wladimir Klitschko. This will be the second-biggest fighter on Dubois’ resume, the first coming in his loss to Usyk. AJ is used to this. He has headlined MSG and the O2. This is his third headline fight at Wembley Stadium. It is business as usual as far as Anthony Joshua is concerned, and there is every chance that Daniel Dubois will crumble under the lights.
Daniel Dubois must not be dismissed. He has tons of power and has proven in his previous two fights that he deserves his IBF title. Critics have labeled Dynamite as a quitter, but that may work in his favor in this fight. The 27-year-old has not taken a lot of significant damage in his losses. That helps preserve his chin, something he may need to rely on against a power puncher like Joshua. If Dubois can survive the first six rounds without taking significant damage, he can be in with a shot of victory.
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois Betting Tips
Anthony Joshua is an overwhelming favourite for this fight. The former world champion is worth 2/9 with our online bookmaker. Joshua has fought stronger, more experienced boxers and won. We are predicting that AJ will win, but there is not much value in backing him in a straight-win bet. Luckily, there are other exciting boxing betting markets to wager on.
The most likely method of victory for this fight is Anthony Joshua by KO/TKO, worth 9/20 in the online betting. He can break down Dubois’ defence, work behind his jab and unleash vicious combos. AJ will pounce on openings more ruthlessly and with more power than Dubois’ previous opponents. He has won by KO/TKO inside six rounds in his last two fights and we think he can do the same here. We like a bet on Anthony Joshua to win by KO/TKO in rounds 1-6, worth 2/1.
The over/under line is set at 7.5. In line with our last pick, we like a bet on the under worth 17/20. That has landed in all of Joshua’s last three fights. We think AJ can finish this fight within six rounds.
A bet on Daniel Dubois is worth 14/5. He has earned his spot as a headliner at Wembley and can earn the biggest win of his career against AJ. Dynamite’s power should not be underestimated, and Joshua’s chin may not be as strong as before. If Joshua gets into a firefight, Dubois has enough ability to hand him the second KO loss of his career.
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Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois Full Fight Card
- Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois — IBF heavyweight title fight
- Tyler Denny vs. Hamza Sheeraz — EBU European middleweight title fight
- Anthony Cacace vs. Josh Warrington — IBF and IBO super featherweight title fight
- Ishmael Davis vs. Josh Kelly — 12-round middleweight fight
- Joshua Buatsi vs. Willy Hutchinson — WBO interim light heavyweight title fight
- Mark Chamberlain vs. Josh Padley — 10-round lightweight fight
