Anthony Joshua is gearing up for the 13th world title fight of his career as he prepares to do battle with Daniel Dubois for the IBF belt. The Watford-born superstar has rallied following back-to-back defeats against colossus Oleksandr Usyk to record four-straight victories heading into the contest at Wembley Stadium.
Having previously reigned as unified world heavyweight champion, the redemption arc of 'AJ' has saw him dispatch of Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in the past couple of years. Coming into the bout at the national stadium, Dubois has also demonstrated his own formidability after losing to the indomitable Usyk.
The Brit beat Jarrell Miller last December, before following this up with an impressive eighth round win over Filip Hrgovic as he earned the IBF world title honours via a technical knockout. There is no doubting the fanfare surrounding this 'Battle of Britain' contest, with a capacity crowd of 90,000 enthusiasts expected to take in the spectacle in London.
Coming into the fight, 'Dynamite' is determined to give legitimacy to the title he picked up after beating Hrgovic, who was installed as interim belt holder after Usyk vacated his title before facing Tyson Fury. Speaking about the significance of his upcoming bout, Dubois admitted: "I need to legitimise it, win it, and show the world I am the man,"
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"It is all meant to be, I am in the right place at the right time, and I just need to stay in my bubble and stay focused," he continued, as he issued fighting talk towards his foe. "I am on the job. He is going to bring it and I am going to bring it. Knockout? By any means necessary."
As for Joshua, he warned: "How much do I want to win? A lot. I work really hard. I have kept my head down, I have prayed, and what will be will be. I will leave it to the big man upstairs. Where am I at in my career? If I wanted to fight for another four years I could do that easy.
"My body is really good. I was with the physio today and he was like 'I work with a lot of athletes and you really take care of your body and your joints' I am going to fight someone who wants it and is passionate. I am going to thrive on that, he is going to thrive on that. It is going to be an electric atmosphere."
How do I listen to Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois on radio for free?The contest between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will be broadcast on TalkSport, which will provide commentary of the match for free. You can also listen to BBC 5 Live, which will provide coverage of the evening.
What is the fight card in full?- Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua (IBF heavyweight title)
- Hamzah Sheeraz v Tyler Denny (European middleweight title)
- Anthony Cacace v Josh Warrington (IBF super-featherweight title)
- Joshua Buatsi v Willy Hutchinson (WBO interim light-heavyweight title)
- Liam Smith v Josh Kelly (light-middleweight)
- Mark Chamberlain v Josh Padley (lightweight)
