Anthony Joshua is poised to trade blows with British rival Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September, according to talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver.
Dubois proved he has the intangibles to hang with the upper echelons of the heavyweight division with a spirited display against Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night.
Boxing fans had branded Dubois “a quitter” after the Brit saw out both of his professional losses to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk on one knee.
But ‘Triple D’ showed plenty of heart against Hrgovic as he came through early adversity to batter the Croatian from pillar to post en route to an eighth-round stoppage on cuts.
Now, he is the frontrunner to face AJ in an all-British showdown at Wembley Stadium on September 21 for the soon-to-be-vacated IBF heavyweight world title.
“Anthony Joshua is looking to become a three-time heavyweight champion, and guess what, that happens on September 21 at Wembley Stadium, they are already in talks,” former European champion Oliver told talkSPORT.com.
“Daniel Dubois boxed brilliantly last night against Filip Hrgovic and he won and deserves that shot against Anthony Joshua.
“We will see Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois on September 21, that is happening. A great fight for British boxing fans!”
Dubois picked up the IBF interim trinket by beating Hrgovic and is expected to be elevated to full champion as soon as the major sanctioning body inevitably strips Usyk in the coming days.
The Ukrainian is unable to answer the IBF’s call for a mandatory fight as he is tied up by a rematch with Tyson Fury, which is set to take place on December 21.
As a result, the title will be passed to Dubois, who is expected to make his first defence of the red and gold strap against Joshua.
The other fight that was on the cards for the Watford powerhouse after Saturday night’s unprecedented Queensberry vs Matchroom 5vs5 event was a clash with Zhilei Zhang.
‘Big Bang’ knocked out Deontay Wilder in the fifth round to seemingly end the ‘Bronze Bomber’s’ career for good.
Although that fight doesn’t appear to be next for Joshua, Oliver insists there will be plenty of appetite for it now that Zhang has got back to winning ways.
“That’s still a good fight to be had, the fans will want that at some point, they obviously have history going back to the Olympics,” he added.
“There are loads of great fights to make in this heavyweight division.
“We obviously want to see Anthony Joshua in there with Daniel Dubois but the fight everyone wants to see is the Tyson Fury fight.
“If Fury can go and right the wrongs against Usyk in December and Joshua beats Dubois then we should get that for all the belts.”
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News Summary:
- Anthony Joshua set for Wembley showdown in blockbuster British bout against Daniel Dubois in potential world title fight
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