This was our preview of Joshua vs Dubois – click here for a full report on how Dubois retained the IBF heavyweight title with an astonishing fifth-round knockout.
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois provides another absolute blockbuster in a sensational year for heavyweight boxing as London hosts a massive all-British showdown at Wembley Stadium tonight (Saturday September 21).
More than 96,000 rabid fight fans (a new record gate) have packed the famous venue as Dubois defends his belt for the first time, and a rejuvenated AJ bids to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. It should be an absolute beauty.
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The prize at the end of this particular rainbow is even bigger – a shot at the winner of Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury 2 for all of the marbles in the fight games marquee weight division. Another undisputed fight.
Here is all we know as the countdown really hots up towards fight night in the UK capital.
When is Joshua vs Dubois?
The big fight takes place tonight (September 21, 2024) at London’s iconic Wembley Stadium.
READ MORE: Who are boxing’s current world heavyweight champions?
Ring walks for the main event are expected at around 10pm local time. That is 11pm CET, 5pm Eastern Time in the US and 2pm PST on the West Coast.
TV channel and live stream details
This is the great news for UK fight fans – once again, Saudi General Entertainment Authority chief Turki Alalshikh has been keen to spread the promotion for his shows far and wide.
Joshua vs Dubois will be aired/streamed by three outlets in the UK alone – DAZN PPV (£19.99), Sky Sports Box Office (£19.95) and TNT Sports Box Office (£19.99).
In the U.S. DAZN PPV has the rights.
Venue and tickets
The venue of course is London’s iconic Wembley Stadium, and like we said there will be a record fight crowd there of more than 96,000 with tickets sold out.
What is at stake?
If you take the fact Oleksandr Usyk was not the undisputed world heavyweight champion for long, there is a silver lining. It means this all-British blockbuster WILL be for a world heavyweight title.
Dubois is now the IBF heavyweight champion after beating Filip Hrgovic in June to become interim king and then being elevated to the full title after Usyk vacated in the wake of that spectacular defeat of Fury.
As we said, the opportunity is here for AJ is to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Latest odds
Joshua, on the back of four straight wins since his second loss to Usyk in August 2022, is a firm favourite for this one at 2/9.
You bet the underdog Dubois at 10/3 while the Draw – always a relevant option on big fight nights – is a 16/1 shot.
The weights
The weigh-in for Joshua vs Dubois took place in London’s Trafalgar Square on Friday (September 20).
Dubois weighed in at 248.5lbs (a shade over 17st 10lbs), just under 3lbs heavier than he was for that terrific win over Hrgovic in June,
Meanwhile AJ hit the scales at just over 252lbs, just a few ounces lighter than for his sensational obliteration of Francis Ngannou in early March.
Anthony Joshua record
Anthony Joshua (full name Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua) was born in Watford, England on October 15, 1989. He is now 34 years old and stands 1.98m tall (6ft 6ins). He has a reach of 82ins.
Joshua has fought 31 times as a professional, with a 28-3 record. 28 wins and 3 losses, with 25 of the wins coming inside distance.
AJ, a former Olympic champion in the amateurs, has an impressive resume – which includes some of the biggest names in the heavyweight division in recent years.
Joshua, among others, has posted victories over Dillian Whyte, Charles Martin, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Carlos Takam, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz, Kubrat Pulev, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin.
Joshua’s defeats have all come in world title fights – that shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and then those back-to-back decisions at the hands of Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
He fought three times in 2023 as he rebounded from those back-to-back Usyk losses. A points victory over Jermaine Franklin was followed by a knockout of late stand-in Helenius. Then came the impressive showing which resulted in a five-round win over Wallin in December.
That win over Wallin was AJ’s first fight with new trainer Ben Davison heading up his corner, and the promise of that debut outing for this fledgling partnership was confirmed in spectacular style when he faced former UFC heavyweight king Francis Ngannou in March 2024.
Joshua was circumspect for the first couple of minutes, but then exploded in sensational style to have Ngannou on the floor in the opening session. He then followed by closing the show in Round with a highlight-reel knockout. It was the punch heard around the world – absolutely devastating.
Daniel Dubois record
The 27-year-old Daniel Dubois was born on September 6, 1997 in Greenwich, London. He boasts a pro record of 21-2 with 20 of his victories coming by way of KO. He is not known as ‘Dynamite’ for nothing.
Dubois looked devastating as he reeled off 15 straight wins to begin his career in the paid ranks. But then, in November 2020, he came up against the immovable object that was fellow unbeaten Brit Joe Joyce. He suffered a serious eye injury in falling to a knockout defeat in Round 10.
Many experts questioned Dubois and his potential to be an elite heavy after that, but he regrouped in terrific style to reel off four wins – in the process taking the WBA ‘regular’ heavyweight title from Trevor Bryan in Miami in 2022.
This put Dubois in the reckoning for a world title shot, and that came against the mighty Oleksandr Usyk in Poland in August 2023. He had the champion on the deck with a body shot early in the fight, but crucially it was ruled a low blow and Usyk was given time to recover. Eventually Oleksandr would prevail by ninth-round stoppage.
Again there were question marks about Dubois, notably about his heart, but he proved the doubters wrong again with a terrific performance to stop Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller late in the final session of their 10-rounder in Riyadh last December. He took some huge Miller shots and gutted it out in the trenches en route to what might be a career-best victory.
If the Miller fight was probably the best win up to that point for Dubois, he upped the ante again when he met the much-feared Filip Hrgovic in June 2024 with the interim IBF world heavyweight title on the line. The British star put in a quite spectacular display to stop the unbeaten Croat in some style. If anybody still had doubts about ‘Dynamite’, they were now surely gone.
Joshua vs Dubois undercard
This is the first major show put on in the UK by Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season, and like all the blockbusters in the desert, it has an undercard to match the hype.
Among the matchups, two-time world featherweight champion Josh Warrington returns to world title action by going up against the current super featherweight world champion Anthony Cacace. Hamzah Sheeraz, who recently secured a knockout victory against Austin Williams during the hugely successful 5vs5 fight night in Riyadh, will take on European middleweight champion Tyler Denny.
Former British Olympian Josh Kelly had been due to face WBO super welterweight champion Liam Smith but the Liverpool star is now ruled out by a virus Kelly will instead now face Ishmael Davis
The undefeated 2016 Olympic bronze medallist and British light heavyweight Joshua Buatsi will go into battle for the WBO Interim world championship by taking on Willy Hutchinson, who impressed at Kingdom Arena after claiming an impressive points victory over Craig Richards on the 5vs5 card.
WBA Intercontinental champion Mark Chamberlain is also set to feature on the card against undefeated fellow British lightweight Josh Padley.
There is also a very special musical interlude during the big night – featuring former Oasis front man Liam Gallagher. As you were, fight fans!
