On Saturday the 21st of September, 2024, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will fight for the IBF heavyweight championship of the world. The battle will take place at Wembley Stadium and promises to be a cracker.
Getting tickets for this one might not have been quite as hard as it was for the shows that the reformed Oasis will play at the national stadium in 2024. But even so, it is a sell-out, and the massive 96,000 crowd that is predicted is set to create a new post-war British record for a boxing bout.
The biggest five crowds in British boxing history have all come at Wembley, with the current record standing at 94,000. That mark was set recently, in 2022, when Tyson Fury beat Dillian Whyte by TKO in the sixth round. Wembley has a maximum attendance of 90,000 for most sports, including football and rugby and it is thought that will be how many will attend when Oasis come to town.
Who Is the Favourite?
However, AJ vesus Dubois will top that and the atmosphere created by the 96,000 fans should be quite something. The two British boxers are powerful men and we really could see a top-notch bout. At 27 years old, Dubois is significantly younger than Joshua and comes into the bout as the IBF interim champion. 34-year-old AJ, who will be 35 less than a month after the fight, is bidding to become just the fifth man ever to be a three-time world heavyweight champion.
Considering he has received a lot of criticism over the years, that is quite a career to go alongside his gold medal from the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Joshua comes into the fight as the big favourite, but what is likely to transpire on the night? Let’s look at the two boxers, and the fight itself, in more detail.
Daniel Dubois
Dubois has a fascinating back story, with his father Dave claiming he was told to train his then-unborn son as a boxer in a religious vision. Daniel is one of Dave’s (real name Stanley!) 11 children (born to two women), though Dave raised the youngest seven himself.
Daniel was brought up in a very particular way, with his father strict, though the fighter says he wasn’t “crazy strict, just disciplined”. The two have a huge bond and Dave is a massively influential figure both in his son’s life, and boxing career.
Dubois, nicknamed Dynamite, is an inch shorter than AJ, at 6ft 5in, and heads into the fight having won 21 of his 23 fights, with 20 of those victories coming by knockout. He has held the IBF title since June but has been prepared for this career and life since he was five. He won his first 15 fights, claiming the English heavyweight title in his eighth and then the British crown in his 12th.
In his next bout, he took the Commonwealth title (and WBO International crown) and his career was following a nice trajectory until defeat in his 16th fight. Joe Joyce knocked him out in the 10th round but he came back to claim the WBA heavyweight title, winning four more fights. However, in August 2023 he was beaten in the ninth round by Ukrainian legend Usyk.
He has since won twice but this is a step up for him and the odds suggest it is one he may struggle with. He has age on his side but Joshua is tall, powerful and better than anyone he has faced, Usyk aside. Dubois feels that this is his moment and if he can win it will open up the way to much bigger, and more lucrative fights. But that is a big if.
Anthony Joshua
Many people first heard of AJ when he won gold at London 2012 but, of course, he had been a promising amateur for several years before that. His physique, good looks and boxing ability catapulted him into the spotlight after his gold medal and his career went perfectly as he won his first 22 fights.
There were some questions about the standard of his opponents at times but even so, having had his first pro fight in October 2013, he became WBC International champion just over 12 months later. His seamless progression continued and he became the Commonwealth champion and then the British champ in 2015.
Is first full world title was won against Charles Martin in April 2016, as he became the IBF champ but perhaps the highlight of his career came on the 29th of April 217 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley. Klitschko was a former unified champ and a huge name and the duo produced a stunning contest, named Fight of the Year by Ring and others. It swung both ways but Joshua showed great heart to win by TKO in the 11th round and take his record to 19-0, claiming the vacant WBA title in the process.
Unfortunately, just as it seemed that AJ could go on and establish himself as a real great, his performances began to stutter. Although he would claim the WBO and IBO titles as well, his failure to take on top-class opponents, plus some lacklustre performances were troubling. Things really came to a head when he was stunned by Andy Ruiz Jr., losing for the first time in his 23rd fight.
He gained revenge and recovered his world titles in a rematch but then a poor showing against Kubrat Pulev was followed by consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk. Four more wins have followed, taking his record to 28-3, but his reputation is that of a boxer just short of the highest level. He needs a convincing win against Dubois as he seeks to build towards the sort of super-fight that could elevate him.
The Fight
Before the two heavyweights take to the ring there is a really classy undercard at Wembley, with Anthony Cacace versus Josh Warrington just one of the highlights. The main event should take place shortly after 10.30 pm and we fancy there could be an upset on the cards. There really isn’t all that much between the two fighters, and therefore with Dubois priced at 7/2, he looks a really good value bet (AJ is the 3/10 favourite).
Both men have explosive power and whilst AJ probably punches a little harder, we believe Dubois may deliver a knockout. That can be backed at big odds and given the underdog gave Usyk a real scare when they fought, we think he is well worth backing here. Dubois is a fighter still on the up, whilst we can’t escape the fact that Joshua’s best days are behind him.