Newly crowned IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois 21-2 (20) will make the first defence of his title against two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua 28-3 (25) in an all-British showdown at Wembley Stadium in London, England on September 21.
The 26-year-old Dubois won the interim IBF title will his eighth-round stoppage victory over previously undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic 17-1 (14) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia at the start of this month.
He was elevated to full champion by the IBF after Oleksandr Usyk 22-0 (14) relinquished the belt. Ring Magazine champion Usyk had unified all four major world sanctioning body titles with his decision win over Tyson Fury 34-1-1 (24) last month.
Dubois bounced back from his ninth-round knockout loss to Usyk in August last year with back-to-back stoppage wins and now has the chance to claim the biggest scalp of his career against veteran Joshua, 34.
“I’m just aiming to be the best. To fight the best and beat the best. AJ has been the king for a long time, and we all know it, so on the night I need to become a king-slayer,” Dubois said of his fellow Londoner.
“That’s my goal and that’s the mission at hand. I’m just ready to go.
“I’m definitely learning more about myself with every fight, as a fighter and as a person. Coming out of the darkness, going into the light and being a man of the future.
“I’ve improved all round as a fighter and an athlete. I’m really up for this and ready to go.
“I’m ready to let my fists do the talking. I’m 100 per cent ready. I’m going to go to camp, focus and train like a beast. Bring it on.”
Joshua has rebuilt his career superbly since back-to-back points losses to tricky Ukrainian southpaw Usyk in 2021 and 2022, his only fights in those calendar years.
He has boxed four times for four wins since April last year, scoring highlight reel KOs of Robert Helenius and Francis Ngannou, boxing the head off Jermaine Franklin and forcing Otto Wallin into submission in five.
Joshua, who has looked superb under new trainer Ben Davison who took the coaching reigns two fights ago, sees himself as a future undisputed champion, but says his sole focus for now if Dubois.
“It’s the next man up. I’ve had Dubois on my mind for a while and he’ll be on my mind for the next 12 weeks until I get my hand raised,” Joshua said.
“I’m not silly either, I know the game. We’re all in the wild. We’re a pack of lions and hunters. I have to keep my eyes peeled, I can’t just focus on those two [Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder].
“The goal is just to get through a successful training camp and then performing on the night. The shiny stuff comes at a later date.”
