Anthony Joshua is right back at the peak of his heavyweight powers as he prepares for the bid to become a three-time world champion in the fight game’s marquee weight class.
In August 2022 AJ (28-3) appeared to be at the crossroads of his career following the second of back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk in title fights. Would he remain as an elite contender/champion, or start the steady fall to also-ran.
The last 17 months have answered that question loud and clear – AJ has reeled off four straight wins, each one more impressive than the last. He started with a decision victory over Jermaine Franklin and then knocked out late stand-in Robert Helenius. Questions remained though, until he teamed up with former Fury trainer Ben Davison in late 2023.
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Since then Joshua has looked once again like the devastating force who once ruled the heavyweight division by striking fear into his opponents. A fifth-round stoppage of Otto Wallin and a two-round obliteration of Francis Ngannou were both spectacular in terms of gameplan and execution. This was the AJ of old.
Now the 34-year-old Watford man gets the chance to join the likes of Muhammad Ali as a three-time world heavyweight champion, when he challenges fellow Brit Daniel Dubois (21-2) for the IBF belt at London’s Wembley Stadium on September 21.
Joshua vs Dubois is a massive show, the first to be put on by Turki Alalshikh and Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season in the UK. And it is set to break a historic boxing record.
When organisers applied for permission to sell extra tickets to increase the capacity for this fight, it means the show will likely now attract a crowd of around 96,000. That would be the biggest ever crowd to attend a boxing event at the iconic venue.
It is testament to Joshua’s pulling power, which clearly remains as strong as ever. People are excited about him once again, and his promoter Eddie Hearn believes the promotion for Dubois will take things to a whole new level as Joshua ‘comes home’. It will also remember include Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher singing live before the main event – an even bigger deal now the iconic 90s band are getting back together for that 2025 tour (don’t mention tickets…).
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Hearn told reporters: “Wait til you see what is going to happen in London over the next two weeks with this promotion, it is going to blow your mind. It’s massive for boxing, the promo activity. Imagine the biggest promotion of any fight you have seen, and then attached 100 rockets to it and you are not even close.
“His last two fights have been on the road. We haven’t had a stadium fight with Usyk since 2021 in the UK but the momentum is back with him after the wins over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. He’s had a couple of defeats but he’s still massive. The momentum from an AJ win over Dubois would take him into a massive 2025 which could be the defining moment of his career.”
When is Joshua vs Dubois?
The bout takes place at Wembley Stadium on Saturday September 21, 2024. It’s a star-studded card and ring walks for the main event are expected to start at around 2300 local time. That is midnight CET, 1800 Eastern Time or 1500 PST if you are watching on the West Coast.
How to watch the fight live
The big fight will be aired/streamed live by three outlets on PPV in the UK – Sky Sports Box Office, DAZN PPV and TNT Sports Box Office. DAZN will have the call in the United States.
