Topic: [ POLL ] IBF Heavyweight Title Fight: Joshua vs Dubois 21st September 2024 (Read 1118 times)

There is no Usyk vs Wilder fight, did you mean Fury vs Usyk rematch?

As for Joshua, he is a boxer past his best and past his prime. Even at his peak he was not exactly the best but he was in the right place at the right time and he managed to become world champion. I think he was overrated and he was definitely technically inferior when he faced the opponents that defeated him because they were better. That is what it comes down to.

Whether or not Dubois has a fight before the IBF announces their mandatory number one contender on 22nd April 2025, he deserves a unification fight.

Yes, this has been mentioned by Frank Warren himself, and the thing is that he also promoted Frank Wardley, so most likely this fight is going to be made. Wardley though is rank #12, so this could be just a get busy fight for him.

And probably next could be a potential rematch with AJ or he could be looking at the winner of Usyk vs Wilder for the unification. So the future looks good for Dubois as that win against AJ is really the breaking point of his career.

As there is hardly any action by Joshua or his team to ask for a rematch with Dubois, rumours about a fight with Wardley began to circulate. That was when the IBF president (Daryl Peoples) announced Dubois was allowed to make an optional defence against any ranked boxer as long as the fight takes place before 22nd April 2025. It seems as though Dubois could be in the ring with Wardley next.

In that promotional meeting to discuss the fight, Joshua threatened to smash a chair over the head of Dubois and tried to intimidate him. That was when I was 100% sure Dubois would knock him out. As for the defeat itself, yes it seems as though it will be very heavy on Joshua and worse than the Ruiz defeat because he is not getting younger and the younger boxers are eager to make their mark.

I do not see Joshua coming back simply because all of the names you mentioned (and some you did not) are all going to be the favourite to win against Joshua. Dubois destroyed him physically and mentally, there is no way back for Joshua but maybe there is a lucrative goodbye fight against Fury (if he loses to Usyk in December).

If AJ isn't going to rematch Dubois next he should just wait for Fury. I still think he can beat Dubois and he should want the rematch as he's got nothing to lose. If he loses then he's back to where he was, out of line for a belt so just take the Fury fight as that's still the biggest fight and payday of his career. That's assuming Fury beats Usyk otherwise we'll likely see a trilogy there.

I know the first AJ/Dubois fight was very one sided but AJ got clattered in the first round and was struggling with wobbly legs since then onwards. He almost got Dubois at the end but out of desperation went in for the kill and walked right onto a punch that put him to bed. AJ just needs to learn from the first fight and try to be the first one to do damage like Dubois did. Dubois came out with fury like a bull out of the gate and put all the pressure on AJ. Aj needs to do the same. In heavyweight boxing anything can happen and one punch can change everything so AJ needs to do the same and try control the fight at his pace. Hearn and Warren have been teasing the new 5/5 and the rematch on that card would be perfect but if it doesn't happen then I can't see it getting done before the Fury/Usyk fight in December.

Perhaps Joshua is still tinkering at this point on what or where his career is going to be. I think this is more devastated lost to him as compare to his first defeat on Andy Ruiz as he asked for a immediate rematch. Here, he thought that he was totally in control of everything, even during the pre-fight that everyone thought that he was the bully and Dubois trying to just defend himself.

But in the ring it was totally different, it was a disaster for him that he and maybe his trainer will have to think what is the best move for them. Maybe a couple of fights, IBF has like Filip Hrgovic, Derek Chisora, and Otto Wallin as 9th, 10th, and 11th rank boxer in their organization. Either one of them could be a good comeback fight for Anthony Joshua.

The IBF has given a statement about their current title holder Dubois regarding his mandatory opponent.

It seems the IBF intend to notify Dubois in April 2025 about fighting in June 2025 against the winner of the Martin Bakole vs Agit Kabayel final eliminator.

There does not seem to be any scope of an immediate rematch against Joshua and to be clear, Dubois has nothing to prove because he not only beat Joshua he inflicted a very heavy defeat.

If Joshua wanted the rematch to happen he would have asked with a couple of days of his defeat. If wants to continue in boxing he will have to navigate a different path in order to try to get another title shot.

From what I could tell when Dubois and Joshua were in the ring when the referee was giving his instructions, Joshua looked scared because he knew he could be on the end of a humiliation. He was never the best (or anywhere near the best) boxer but he was in the right place at the right time until Ruiz destroyed him and then Usyk gave him consecutive defeats. Now Dubois demolished him.

If Joshua were to get in the ring with Whyte or Chisora, even they would probably beat him. In my opinion Parker would definitely beat him and also Zhang, Wilder and Hrgovic therefore he cannot go on a winning steak now. He should retire because he has nothing left after being mentally and physically broken by Dubois.

I think Fury knows that it will still be a big money for them to fight at some point. We have been waiting for a all British showdown in the last 4 years or so. It might have a setback though, as he lost to Usyk although there is a rematch.


Right, he needs to get a tune up fight next, he needs to puck himself up, get back that confidence in him. Just like when he lost a second time against Usyk. They slowly get him to a 4 fight winning streak, the last one knocking down Ngannou to bolsters his confidence. They could do it again and bounce back

While we wait for the next move by Joshua though most believe he will not want to have a rematch with Dubois, it is Tyson Fury still talking about Joshua. He stated he was willing to wait until he was 50-YEARS-OLD if that was what it took to fight Anthony Joshua. In typical Fury tradition he also stated Joshua "knows he's getting it".

That is all Joshua needs right now while he tries to pick himself up after the brutal humiliating defeat he suffered at the hands of Dubois.

In some of his interviews in the stadium after the fight, he was extremely disappointed. It was almost as though he thought he would beat Usyk and maybe not have a trilogy and instead fight Joshua. Regardless of who wins (Fury or Usyk), as long as Joshua had defeated Dubois whenever any potential Fury vs Joshua took place it would be far more lucrative and meaningful. Now that Joshua suffered an emphatic loss, that Fury fight seems less important.

It is clear if the money from the Middle East comes calling for a rematch, it will take a massive effort by Dubois to avoid it regardless of what Hearn and Warren claim was written in their contracts. Money talks at the end of the day but Dubois should get his chance to fight the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch. As for Joshua, where will he go from here?

Fury looked sick because he knows that the big money fight between him and AJ just took a huge hit. He was even shouting that it had just cost him 150 million.


There's conflicting accounts of the rematch clause as Hearn has said there is one and Warren says there isn't but one thing is for sure is that the Saudi's can easily make the rematch happen. Dubois seems to want it and it's his biggest fight still so I'm sure it will happen as long as AJ wants it. Maybe he should take that fight next or just wait to fight Fury, especially if Fury loses again in the rematch.

This was the decisive punch in the fifth round. After being battered and knocked down several times throughout the fight, Joshua surprisingly caught Dubois with a right hand and that seemed to give him the energy to try to attack Dubois thinking he was going to win the fight.

Unfortunately for Joshua, it was all over a few seconds later when he they both threw a punch at the same time. Joshua tried to hit Dubois with an uppercut but instead got hit with a powerful right hand that knocked him out.

Perhaps the comparison is how AJ was beaten, Ruiz really a powerful puncher like Dubois and didn't get AJ any room to breathe during their fight. And once Ruiz caught AJ, it was over, he wasn't able to recover from that first knockdown, and once he was slightly hit, he will go down just like what Dubois gave to him.

The comparison ends there, and maybe in the rematch, Dubois will train harder than the first time, and probably will not let AJ any time to think. So Dubois has all the options in the world and any choice he made, will give him a lot of money.

This is not really comparable to Andy Ruiz. Ruiz got really out of shape and was partying a lot after he beat AJ. Many people thought his win was a fluke and Joshua came in as the betting favorite in the rematch.

I don’t see Joshua improving his defense. If he fights Dubois again, he will get caught again, and with his glass chin, he will get wobbled and KO’d again.

At the moment Dubois is undoubtedly the biggest name in heavyweight boxing and with that title he should think very carefully before jumping in to any fight other than the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch. If Dubois gets to fight the winner then it will be a fantastic unification fight in 2025 but if he takes on another opponent then if the worst happens he would lose his belt and also the opportunity at being undisputed heavyweight champion.

I agree, if Fury wins there will probably be a trilogy but if Usyk wins it has to be Usyk vs Dubois next because that will be the fight boxing fans would want to see.

That will be too bad for AJ to not insert a rematch clause, that is his biggest mistakes, perhaps he think that he will win this fight. And so he is very confident that he doesn't want to have another fight. However, as per this news,


https://www.boxingscene.com/daniel-dubois-next-fight-he-welcomes-anthony-joshua-rematch-also-targets-winner-oleksandr-usyk-tyson-fury--186098

So that will be his next target, the winner of Usyk vs Fury rematch. But if Fury wins then maybe there will be a trilogy after all. Or if Usyk wins then maybe a fight with Dubois is imminent. So all roads lead to Dubois and for sure this young fighter are ready to all the challenges, including a rematch with AJ.

Yeah, but if Dubois is looking for big money, for sure he might have to agree for a rematch as he will be the A-side this time and not Joshua. He could ask for a 60/40 or even 70/30 split and I think Joshua will be ok with that.

Unless he is going to work his way out, wait for the winner of Usyk vs Fury, it's a fight that will cement his legacy and it's all for the glory and marbles of unifying the belts again. So Dubois has all the options now, not sure about Joshua's path, he is already 35 years old and it seems that he might be on the way out and no longer a fighter that in his prime.

Joshua approached the post-fight press conference like a broken man. He did not mention even once about the rematch clause however Hearn did mentioned it before Joshua entered the room stating they have one more fight in their contract with Riyadh Season and things will become clear after Fury and Usyk have their rematch.

As far as Dubois and his promoter Frank Warren are concerned, they had NO rematch clause in their contract that allowed Joshua to ask for another fight. It seems Joshua inserted the clause allowing Dubois to ask for a rematch but did not insert a clause for himself.

Still humiliating though, he had bullied Dubois in the pre-fight interview and you thought that he will beat the hell out of the young Dubois. And in his first, he was still young then, but now, I'm not saying that he is out of his prime, but with this kind of lost, you have to think or doubt yourself if you can come back.


AJ wanted to take the rematch right away, similar to what he did against Ruiz if I'm not mistaken, and he as able to win in the rematch. Same with Usyk, but he was beaten 2x. So who knows, maybe Dubois will make it 2-0 or AJ make it 1-1 and then go for the decider trilogy.

Mike

Btw, Ben Davison was a coach of AJ and Tyson Fury. Think that would play some role in their potential next fight? Both btw are low on morale when (or if) they meet. AJ that comes after a loss and a loss by KO, Fury would feel down after loosing to Usyk for a second time. Has anyone noticed how slim or better say did not look as heavyweight Usyk looked on this event? Either its his baggy clothes, or he has really dropped some weight.


Somewhere I saw numbers, that 90k tickets were sold, and they made extra 6k tickets for this event. Almost 100k tickets sold + PPVs, someone has earned good money on that fight.

I am quite certain that this agreement between them will happen because Mike Tyson Fury will also lose again against Usyk heheheheheheh. The winner of this will be given another chance to fight in an eliminator against another ranked boxer. However, similar to much of the fans, I was also very shocked. I thought Ben Davison would help him to another challenge against Usyk.

Also, it appears this is the real reason Tyson Fury was very sad to witness the loss of Joshua.



Following Joshua's knockout, Fury was spotted at ringside, visibly upset and reportedly shouting about the money he will now lose.

"That cost me $150 million," Fury exclaimed.

Source https://www.marca.com/en/boxing/2024/09/22/66f07a09268e3e6d498b456f.html

Fury did seem shocked and felt bad for Joshua after Dubois beat him but there was no official announcement between Fury vs Joshua. If that fight ever went ahead it would still be a sell-out at most stadiums. The fact is boxing fans are now moving away from that era and looking forward to the next generation but people will probably still want to see it even though both are past their prime.

AJ is well liked in the UK, probably much more than any other boxer including Tyson Fury. Many people we're even booing Dubois during his ringwalk, but I'm sure he's gained a lot of fans now.




I think he'd jump at the chance. It's still his biggest fight right now, aside from maybe an Usyk rematch but I think even rematching AJ would be bigger. Dubois will have to wait for the outcome of the Fury/Usyk rematch in December anyway.


I dunno. That's what people said about the Ruiz rematch. AJ just got clattered early on and his legs never recovered from the first round so he was fighting to stay on his feet throughout. AJ even hurt Dubois and went in for the kill but walked right on to a counter from Dubois which sent him to sleep.


Calm down. Boxing fans are fickle. One loss and people clamour for retirement. People said the same thing about Dubois after he took a knee in the Usyk and Joyce fights. He'll be back and the Tyson fight is still the biggest in boxing even though they're both coming off losses.

Hey, but wasnt Fury planning to fight AJ on Wembley after a rematch against Usyk? Wasnt there a temporary agreement between them for a fight? Btw, have you noticed how little sad Fury looked. Probably he wanted AJ to win (because his name is more popular, he is more media person than Dubois today), so he would fight against a winner. But right now, his potential fight against AJ looks "weaker" in viewers eyes.

If Joshua officially makes a rematch request and Dubois refuses, he would probably have to either surrender his IBF to make it vacant again in order to fight the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch or he will probably have to pay Joshua to stand aside. I believe Dubois is absolutely certain Joshua will not request the rematch but if he did, Dubois must be confident he will destroy him again.

If things play out in the best case scenario, Joshua will not ask for the rematch and wait to see if he can get a fight with the loser of the Fury vs Usyk rematch. At the same time, Dubois will fight the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch for a stunning heavyweight unification fight.

Personally, I think because of their age, it does not matter who he fights (Fury or Usyk), Dubois is going to be the next undisputed heavyweight champion in 2025 by virtue of holding all the heavyweight belts.

Isnt every boxing fighting contract has a clause of a rematch? Seems so, as as soon as someone from top fighters is beaten, he immediately claims he wants a rematch as there is a clause in their contract. But, since the ball is now on Dubois side, if I was him, I would not accept a rematch. What for? He needs to continue going on top, than pause and waste time with someone he has already beaten. A fight against Usyk will be interesting to watch. After such a win now, and a controversial lose to Usyk, a rematch is required. Usyk is busy with Fury. So Dubois could fight someone who he wont have trouble winning, and face Usyk, for example Summer 2025.

In my opinion, the outcome of the rematch will be the same. That fight really drained Anthony Joshua’s confidence.

AJ is finished, and retirement might be a wise decision. I believe his boxing career is over.

I would have bet on AJ before the fight based on how good he was in the fight he had against Francis; I would have lost. @JollyGood, from your poll. AJ was the most favored to win the fight, many gamblers lost.

I didn't watch the fight live; I only saw the highlights, And although it is difficult to judge how his performance was based on only the highlights, I could see that Dubois was the better fighter.

Dubois must really hit hard, because he got AJ wobbling on his feet a couple of times. If AJ wants a rematch, he has to come better prepared because if his preparation is not any better from this one, he will lose again.

There does not have to be a 2-3 years gap for Joshua and Dubois to have their rematch because there was a rematch clause added in to the contract between them for the 21st September fight. As it stands, Joshua and Hearn could trigger another fight with Dubois, all they have to do is simply ask for it. Keeping that aside, he does not cause fear in opponents and was never an excellent boxer in the first place therefore he will need to contemplate his next step and hopefully retire.

Well, I guess we will not be seeing Joshua retiring soon after got dominated by the champion. Based on a Facebook post (DAZN), here's what he said: "Of course I want to continue fighting" 👊 Well, he can say that on camera, but deep inside, he knows that he got humiliated hence, thinking of a retirement already.

He got welcomed pretty heavily just by basing on this picture, but can't convert it into a win. What's worse is that, he got pummeled every single round and IIRC, he got knocked down once or twice each round. Many are rooting him to win, but many got disappointed as well.

I don't think Dubois will accept a rematch with him after that dominating win. He'd rather focus on the winner of Usyk Vs. Fury rematch like you said. As for Joshua, he needs to start rock bottom again and fight other fighters before going to a title match again. I'm afraid Joshua might receive the same fate as Wilder where they got knocked out and got humiliated in their recent fights. Well, that might happen to him if Joshua's next fight in the future will end up as a loss by KO.

That if he will still have fans that will root for him after that humiliating loss. Well, there will be, but I don't think that it will be that much still after his performance in his previous fights. I agree with you though that's why he needs to start from scratch again and gather some wins along the way before having a title fight again. As for the rematch, I don't think Dubois will give it to him unless, Dubois doesn't want to fight Usyk which is highly unlikely.

It's not AJ's first KO loss. Andy Ruiz did it the first and I'm sure the first loss will always be the deepest that some fighters in the past couldn't get over and in the end more loss til they eventually resign. You know a boxer is broken when they behave like no one can save them anymore like what Tyson Fury did after the loss to Usyk.

Aj's loss against Dubois is humiliating at first but he and his fans will forget about this terrible loss when he wins in his next fight. There may even be a Joshua vs Dubois rematch after 2-3 years.

We all have an opinion about his retirement but the final decision is going to be made by him. Joshua faced reporters after the fight in the press conference and he made it clear he was not going to stop boxing. He looked completely broken as far as his state of mind was concerned yet he still believed he would carry on fighting. Maybe he does not realise his time is over.




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AJ is just not in a shape to activate that rematch clause. Seem every boxing fan I have read in comments on youtube videos thinks AJ will win the fight, I believe so since the guy KO'd Ngannou without having trouble. Anyone who lost his money in this fight is probably replaying the video over and over. That overhead shot that first landed in AJ's jaw already ruined his balance and the rest of the shots made it worse.

Retiring at 34 is too young. He will still fight. He will once again build up his confidence.

The beating is just so bad I don't want to see a rematch, nobody has done this before to Joshua, Dubois is so confident and he can take Joshua's punch, the rematch could turn out more ugly than this one.

I'm ok with him fighting Wilder for old times sake and for those who wished before for the two to meet in the ring, but a rematch against Dubois could be a disaster that could fatally end his career.

He deserves to end his career in good health so he can enjoy his money, Even Dubois was worried, he did not even celebrate; he walked on Joshua to see if he was okay, and was glad that he's ok.

Soon history will read of him but then no one will remember his numerous victories in the ring. They'll only remember and speak loudly of his losses. He may even end up as a case study for other upcoming boxers to know when to leave (retire)the ring. And if AJ continues like this which is very embarrassing to watch almost every Tom, Dick , and Harry is going to beat him.

I don't want him to keep going down this path. Joshua managed to bounce back from his KO losses before, but here we go again. I think it's time for him to rest, or he might end up like Wilder (once a champion, now just a series of losses). Boxing has its time, and unfortunately, I can't say Joshua is one of the greatest heavyweights. In my opinion, Oleksandr Usyk is the best in their division since he’s already beaten all the champions.

Joshua has made enough money to retire on too but the problem is probably going to be with his ego. If he wants to end his career with a win then that is what will take him back in to the ring but he could possibly lose that final professional fight too. Overall, he should consider retirement and not risk another devastating defeat.

If he were to activate the rematch clause I am in no doubt Dubois will absolutely beat him again by way of knockout. What seems more likely is that Joshua will fight the loser of the Fury vs Usyk rematch and retire. Even then there are issues because if Usyk wins, it opens the door for Fury vs Joshua to happen but if Fury defeats Usyk then they could be heading to their own trilogy.

Yes, I thought that AJ could have turn the tide in that round, as he caught Dubois and he back pedaled a bit and then Joshua caught him again. But AJ got reckless as he didn't protect his chin and with that right hook, it's over for him, kissing the canvass.


I still like to see the rematch though, if others are comparing this to the first Andy Ruiz fight, then we know that Joshua was able to win the rematch. However, Dubois confidence could be very high and he is willing to give Joshua that rematch to end all the speculation as who is the new face of British HW boxing.

You're on point. AJ should go on retirement to keep a better prestige for his carrier before this upcoming roaring boxers who're desperate to create theirs own histories may belittle his performance capacities.
Imagine after all the hypes of AJ that he was ready to tear Dubois apartbwirh his blood all just to retain the tittle but at end he lost the match at a fifth round knockout.
AJ has made some Worth records and cool enough to say a goodbye as though.

That knockdown in the first round affected Joshua badly. Dubois caught him with a stunning punch and after that it was only a matter of time before Dubois knocked him out. Maybe Joshua was concussed in the same way that Wilder was when Fury knocked him down early on during their second fight in their trilogy but in the end Dubois won the fight in the 5th round when he could have won it in the first. He also knocked him down at the end of the third but the bell saved Joshua and received a count before being allowed to sit in his corner. Overall, Dubois deserved the win.

He should seriously consider retirement now. Joshua losses:

2019: Ruiz (TKO)
2021: Usyk (unanimous decision)
2022: Usyk (split decision)
2024: Dubois (KO)

I absolutely expected it and was convinced Dubois would win by knockout either within two rounds or failing that definitely within six rounds 

Antony Joshua was very confident about this fight. He probably thought it was going to end like his fight with Francis Ngannou. AJ didn’t take into account that Dubois has improved since his fight against Usyk. I was disappointed in AJ’s performance, I think he’s lost his step because AJ in his prime would not have gotten beat like that. I don’t think AJ should be thinking about a rematch right now. I love Joshua but it looks like it’s time for him to retire.

Sorry. It was really not expected that Dubois was going to knock down Anthony Joshua out of the ring and retaining the IBF title.

Much disappointments especifically from those predicted and anticipated that Anthony would win at all course after he had laid his loudly readiness to restore the IBF title due to his past performances but it was of no excuse to his unfortunate.

Seems like it is time for AJ to end his career before he turns into Chisora Those who were once on top, finish their career after 2-3 losses, but AJ already has 4. I really doubt that with so many losses, he would be any close to being a contender for a title fight AJ can now only sell his rating and fighting against those who wants to build a record. As to Dubois - congratulation. That kid really has something, and it might be that really wasnt a low blow in a fight against Usyk, and Dubois really won that fight.

Joshua was never able to recover from the knockdown at the end of the first round, it was noticeable and Dubois did not give his opponent time to recover, I think that if he had a little more experience, the fight could have been finished even earlier. In my opinion, this is the end for Joshua, he had a very difficult time recovering after his last failures, and this time it could break him completely. After the fight, Dubois was of course positive, he said that he wanted a rematch with Usyk and the like, and Joshua said that he was not going to end his career, but this defeat was definitely a big step back for him.

The first I knew there was a rematch clause was when his manager Hearn was being interviewed in the ring after the fight. As for the rematch clause being triggered, if Joshua were to fight Dubois again he will be outboxed and severely beaten again therefore he should avoid getting in the ring with Dubois again. If that were to happen, I think Dubois will go on to fight the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch for a spectacular heavyweight unification fight. As for Joshua, we will have to retire or simply try to fight the loser of the Fury vs Usyk fight and either rebuild from there or retire.

At 34 years old Joshua is in the past but at 27 years old Dubois is the future. These are exciting times for British boxing.

Congratulations to Dubois, he deserves all the credit.

Before the fight all the commentators and guests stated they thought Joshua would win. After the fight all of the commentators were clearly shocked but an ex-world champion mentioned as soon as the bell sounded, Joshua flicked the jab without hitting Dubois and was protecting his chin by pushing his had back at the same time when he expected Joshua to be aggressive.

Joshua did behave as though he did not prepare for the fight and for that reason lost in an almost humiliating manner but that cannot negate all of the hard work Dubois put in to preparing for the fight. He really does deserve full credit.

Dubois did receive some heavy punches too but he stood his ground and absolutely destroyed Joshua. He inflicted a very heavy and serious physical and mental defeat on Joshua.

I do agree, @JollyGood call it as it is, I even say that Dubois could be a live underdog and that's what he did show us in this fight. And even when we thought that Joshua is gaining momentum in that pivotal fight round, Dubois remain calm, his chin held very well from Joshua's power and he himself deliver that right hook that cause Joshua to stumble and have a hard time getting up.

And it's a good call by the referee as Daniel is simply destroying AJ. This is worst beating than the first Ruiz fight. But I wanted to see a rematch here, obviously it will be entertaining again and the money that this two is going to be made is huge.

Yeah, you did say it. Honestly, I haven't been this angry at AJ for losing any of his fights like I'm this morning; not even when he lost against Andy Ruiz Jr. He started the night's fight with Dubois like it was am impromptu bout, like he never ever prepared for it. Gosh! He kissed the floor more times than I've ever seen in any boxing match. I'm really appalled.

Anthony Joshua's ambition to join boxing legends like Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, Vitali Klitschko and Evander Holyfield to clinch the world championship three times hit the rock. He was outclassed by the younger Daniel Dubois. He acknowledged that he made some mistakes but promised to return to the ring stronger. At 34 I doubt if he can still return to reclaim his place even if he triggers the clause for a rematch. I think he should start considering retirement.

Meanwhile, the new poster boy of the British boxing competition, Dubois, has a bright future, and he is desperate to get to the top of his career. After the win, he said that this was his time of redemption, and he was eager to reach his full potential. Congratulations to the humble young boxer who decided to enter the ring first despite being the IBF heavyweight title holder.

Dubois absolutely destroyed Joshua. I did state earlier that Dubois would finish the fight in in six rounds if he could not end in the first two rounds. Joshua was full of arrogance and bravado before the fight but I noted early on that he was fearful of Dubois and that was one of the reasons I was very confident Dubois would inflict a comprehensive defeat on Joshua.

This photo has NOT been modified according to Sky Sports and regarding this fight if a picture could tell a thousand words, this has to be it.

Just when it appeared that Anthony Joshua was about to make an epic comeback, Daniel Dubois catches him with a perfect counter that puts him down for good. I could never really understand why AJ was so favored among fans and experts when he gets hurt so easily and has awful stamina. Dubois is a monster puncher, he is faster and younger. It should be no surprise that he made it look easy against Joshua who is damaged goods.

Since Joshua was considered the A-side, of course Matchroom demanded a rematch clause, which Eddie Hearn intends to enforce. A rematch is pointless. Dubois was the defending champion and demonstrated an overwhelming superiority. The only thing AJ gains is more brain damage and it holds up a unification against the winner of Fury vs. Usyk 2.

With the confidence Dubois gained, he will be a dangerous fighter who could possibly take the crown as best heavyweight for several years to come, considering that Usyk and Fury are in the final stage of their illustrious careers.

Anthony Joshua here in a decision.  I think they younger fella has enough to stay with Joshua but can't see him losing.  With that being said I wouldn't be shocked if it was the other way around.  I usually throw a couple bones on title fights to make them more interesting to watch I'm gonna go light on this one because I think it's too close to lay too much down.  Should be a good fight either way.

He is in the stadium. He was just interviewed and asked about his opinion on who would win the fight and he opted for Joshua because they knew each other from their amateur days. Everybody knows Dubois takes a lot of punches but when he responds by throwing powerful left and right hooks, he can tilt any fight in his favour but Haney (and I think all others interviewed) went for Joshua to win.

I am still convinced Dubois will win by knockout in a similar way to how Ruiz knocked out Joshua within six rounds.

In relation to this fight,



https://x.com/EddieHearn/status/1837540257413144872

Devin Haney lashing out on Eddie Hearn as the later won't give him tickets, Lol. But I guess the hype for this fight is real, as everyone wanted to watch this fight.

I'm going with the "Will The Fight Go The Distance" bet here.

At the weigh-in and face-off, Joshua seemed worried and anxious. I think he was scared because the pressure of what it at stake. What he knows is that of he loses he will probably retire and that cannot be an easy fear to live with. As for Dubois, he was definitely in his element enjoying the moment and just wants to get in the ring.

In the press conference on Thursday, Dubois stated "I'm ready to fight" three times. He is desperate to beat Joshua and I think he will do it in style by knockout within two rounds with heavy hitting and if that did not happen, I anticipate he will win by knockout within six rounds.

Nope, I think Joshua is the one who has more on the line and I'm rooting for him to take out Dubois on TKO. I watched their pre-match talks and I think Dubois deserves to be punched in the mouth for talking down on him. It's not only lawyers or doctors who deserve respect. Every sportsman deserves to be treated with respect by their fellow contenders.

Well, if we talk of age; I don't think seven years in between them should be anything to worry about for AJ. The age difference isn't like the double up on age (so to say) we've between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. AJ should be able to win this one. He shouldn't stretch it to make the judges decide the outcome. He should make Dubois kiss the canvass on time.

I sincerely hope AJ will be in his element tonight as he was with Francis Ngannou.

The poll in the thread is far too one-sided in favour of Joshua but after just 9 votes it still tells a story. The poll should have had many more votes.

When they had their weigh-in, to be completely honest Dubois looked as though he wanted to get in the ring and just win the fight. As for Joshua, I saw a little bit of bravado but he seemed worried because he 34 years old but Dubois is 27 years old  and is the IBF champion that won 20 of his 21 fights. I am convinced Dubois will win by knockout when they fight this evening.

Joshua yesterday claimed he had no plans to retire soon because he started boxing late in life but that does not matter because age is the determining factor here. Dubois is younger and clearly wants to win the fight more, he is the IBF champion and will probably ensure Joshua will retire after he wins.

https://x.com/THATBOYMMAGURU/status/1836621000810659961

Dana White promoting this fight? LOL. And as what others said in the comment, it seems that Dana White is not working with HE Turki here. 

Well it make sense, the Saudi has a lot of money, and as a businessman, Dana will do anything to please Turki here as he has a vested interest. Joshua though still the huge favorite here, but I think Dubois is a live underdog.

If I based on the result on the poll right now, Joshua has the leading score and I believed he got the best odds. But, what if the situation goes in reverse I think it might give me a luck in the first place then I'll take the big wins. Sometimes, surveys isn't technically reliable to consider so it's always essential to know what the capabilities of a boxer was. It's hard to trust based on analysis these days, so it's better to study and research briefly on the sport that you really wanted to play on betting.
We don't know who will be beatin up during the fight, but I have a big trust om Dubois that he could withstand against Joshua.

Boxing between Joshua vs. Dubois has been talked about a lot lately by boxing fans, I hear them often talking about Joshua being the favorite, but unlike me, to be honest I'm not sure Joshua can beat Dubois this time.

This time I don't have the slightest doubt that Dubois has the iron fist to beat Joshua. For the IBF class champion, I'm pretty sure Dubois is superior, even though many people idolize Joshua, but in heavyweight boxing one punch can change everything, Dubois is young and tough he will do anything to beat his opponent, I'm sure Dubois' punch will change everything, just like OP's retirement prediction.

Whatever the risks that occur on 09/21/24, my choice is still to.

I just saw this tweet,



https://x.com/MatchroomBoxing/status/1836033153875448302

It's already fight week, for sure fans of this fighters are excited. Although Dubois is still a huge almost 4:1 underdog against Joshua. But this could be a great fight that we can see the underdog might pull it off, just saying.

It seems Wembley Stadium has a 90,000 capacity but it was increased to 94,000 for the Fury vs Whyte fight in 2022. Now it is being increased to 96,000 for the Dubois vs Joshua fight. Momentum and interest is slowly increasing in this fight because it is an all-British title fight (Dubois is the IBF champion) and not only that, the winner will probably face the winner of the Fury vs Usyk December 2024 rematch for a unification fight.

I am still very confident Dubois will win and Joshua will contemplate retirement.

It was announced today that the Dubois vs Joshua fight at Wembley Stadium has been completely sold out.

I think the majority will favour Joshua to win the fight and it is difficult to argue against that view. Having said that, I previously stated support for Dubois to win against Joshua because I think he will avoid the jab and get close enough to Joshua to hurt him. Also, in my opinion Joshua dismissed a below par Ngannou on the night with that punch and has since become far too overconfident of his limited abilities.

Basically, I see this as a career ending fight for Joshua and for that it is a must-win for him whereas Dubois will still have time to try another time for a title fight even if he loses on 21st September.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/articles/cpdl14njnp6o


I don't know if he will do it in three but I think AJ should get a KO or stoppage. AJ went the distance twice against Usyk whereas Dubois went out in the 9th. Whilst Dubois has won his last two with great performances I just think AJ is gonna be too good for him. Hopefully whoever wins this fight gets Fury or Usyk next, though everyone wants to see Fury/AJ and it looks like Turki wants that fight so it will probably happen.

Tony Bellew stated in an interview he believes Joshua will win the fight against Dubois by knocking him out in three rounds. He claimed Dubois was was hit 45 times by Filip Hrgovic with his right hand in four rounds in his previous fight and stated Joshua was faster therefore concluded Joshua would win.

Dubois is the IBF heavyweight world champion and he will not surrender the belt. I think he will beat Joshua and after that will fight the winner of the Fury vs Usyk rematch.

We are now two months away from this all British IBF heavyweight clash. I still believe that Dubois will win the fight in part because he the IBF heavyweight champion and is also the younger and seems more eager. As for Joshua, I think he should retire if he loses the fight because he had his time and opportunities but failed to capitalise on them. Now he should move aside with dignity if he does not win.

It did seem as though Joshua was trying to bully Dubois in a way that was supposed to demonstrate he was allowed to say and do what he wanted yet Dubois was supposed to sit there and accept it without responding. Anyway, the poll is far wider of the mark than I anticipated at this point. Seven votes have been case with five in favour of Joshua and only two in favour of Dubois. I hope we see more votes in the poll.

Exactly, if he doesn't like how Joshua conduct himself, he should stand up and that's what he did here, he never back down from that kind of intimidation and then Joshua doesn't like it and then play victim.

Anyhow, I would like to see how Dubois will carry himself moving forward, he could take this as motivation and let his hands do the talking and give AJ the beating and to humble him. Unification fights are now common and again we should thank Saudi for being the power broker in boxing so that we see this kind of great fights.

Usually when one person gets bullied he his the perpetrator and the one getting bullied when they respond they are usually not called a bully. I am glad Dubois stood up to Joshua but he should not have backed down, he should have made sure the bully Joshua did not have the last word. The best thing Dubois can do is let his hands to the talking in the ring, I hope he wins by a clear KO.

As for the winner facing Fury or Usyk, it will be another unification fight because Usyk holds all the heavyweight belts except one and that one is held by Dubois. Interesting boxing happening in September and December 

Both are bullies as far as I know, or at least based on that video. Both of them are trying to intimidate each one so I will say that it's not like Dubois has disrespect him first or what. This is boxing match fueled with testosterone level and so they both wanted to win at least in psyche war and no one wanted to give an inch.

For sure AJ will think this as a personal fight because he wanted to win and continue with his comeback and of course the biggest fight as the winner is supposedly going to fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk. So that stakes are high and so are the emotions of this boxers.

I saw a similar video from a different source days ago and my opinion has not changed. Quite simply, Joshua looked like a bully trying to intimidate Dubois. He thought it was acceptable for him to disrespect Dubois but it was not acceptable for Dubois to return it back to him.

For me, when Joshua threatened to hit him with a chair he crossed the line and became a bully as well as a nobody. Clearly Dubois is not the most articulate when it comes to having a microphone in front of him and did not know how to respond but Joshua was aware of that since they know each from many years ago when they sparred.

I hope Dubois wins the fight and in the process helps Joshua expedite his retirement.

Here is the face-off and it seems that they are building the hype already,

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1hu0Y0TBPx4

Dubois very aggressive but Joshua tries to be cool. However, AJ can't stand Dubois disrespecting him and so they almost got it during their sit down interview. And it could be dangerous for Dubois as he wake up the fire in AJ here and so I'm thinking that AJ is taking this fight very personal and so might go and look for early knockout to silence Dubois here.

The poll in the thread is far closer than many would have thought. Joshua has four votes and Dubois has three. I always thought Joshua was overrated but if he wins he will hold the IBF belt and will also become a three time heavyweight world champion and just a handful of boxers have done that. If Dubois wins, Joshua should retire. Dubois is younger and has time to rectify matters in the event he loses.

Wilder looked a shadow of his former self when he got i to the ring with Zhang. The punishment Wilder sustained from Zhang that knocked him out was something others should note in the event they end up fighting Zhang at some stage.

As for Joshua vs Dubois, either would want to win before it goes to the judges scorecard because along with us they probably are also annoyed by the way some dubious counting always seems to happen.

In my opinion you are right, a KO or TKO seems likely because both are not the most composed boxers after they receive a heavy punch. Both need the win to further their ambitions, this should be a good fight to watch.

It seems Joshua has more on the line because if he loses, he really should retire. Dubois is the younger man and has many more years ahead of him.

I absolutely agree. With Dubois being younger and eager, I see that as an advantage especially when he has 23 fights behind him with 21 wins. He learned a lot from those losses and he should bring the lessons learned in to the ring when he faces Joshua.

I think Dubois has a strong chance of winning, especially considering his recent performance against Hrgovic. Joshua has had his moments, but I feel Dubois's youth and eagerness might give him the edge. If the fight goes the distance, it could be anyone's game, but I'm leaning towards Dubois winning within 12 rounds. Also, it's interesting to see how this fight impacts potential matchups with Fury or Usyk in the future, making this bout even more crucial for both fighters.

Dubois would want to prove that he deserves the title and earn being called the IBF champion, Joshua will also want to prove that his knockout against Francis wasn't just a fluke against an inexperienced boxer and he really has a lot more to give and take.

I'll say Dubois has more on the line in this fight and needs to defeat Joshua to keep getting more high profile championship matches, Joshua can get those off his reputation. I'm expecting Joshua to win.

Both of these fighters are heavy hitters so I am expecting a war that will not go the distance. Dubois is young and has accumulated some good experience in recent fights. Both of them have lost fights by knockout. Joshua was written off from the sport not that long ago but he has bounced back and is considered the favorite. It is still a very even matchup, where Dubois is entirely capable of pulling an upset if Joshua doesn’t have the mental strength to handle taking damage.

Initially though, Dubois was the interim champ when he beat Hrgovic, but when Usyk decided to vacate it because can't fulfill the mandatory fight against Dubois, he was elevated to full champion by the IBF. Yeah since he is younger than Joshua, he could be around longer than the big 3 and he could really be the next big thing for the Heavyweight division.

However, I voted for Joshua to win, I think Anthony can still pull the trigger as he shown in the Ngannou fight. Unlike Wilder, who seems to have lost everything already. Joshua can control this fight thru his jabs in the early round and score points and could probably win by decision.

I'm surprised but this is good since we will be seeing a championship fight again in the heavyweight division.
At first look, this site still list Oleksandr Usyk as the undisputed champion on the five weight class.

But with this news and as you've stated, this is already confirmed.

Oleksandr Usyk vacates IBF title in ‘present’ to Dubois and Joshua

I know probably most of us here will vote for Joshua to win but he should be careful since Dubious is a KO artist with 20 KO's in 21 fights that he won.
Also, as we can see on the betting odds of the fight, it's pretty obvious that AJ is the heavy favorite.

https://www.givemesport.com/anthony-joshua-vs-daniel-dubois-fight-odds/

I remember being disappointed with the referee for not stepping in at the appropriate times (when the heads clearly clashed) to allow Hrgovic treatment. For me, Hrgovic is very good boxer and will recover from his loss. If he gets back to winning ways it is possible within 18 months he could get his own chance at a heavyweight title fight.

Having said that, Dubois was still tested even though Hrgovic was having problem with the cut but that fight would have allowed them both to display their full skills had the injury not occurred. I keep thinking about how tired Joshua gets when he closes in on round 9 onwards and maybe with Dubois being the younger of the two by some margin could make a difference if the fight gets that far.

You are right, Joshua and Dubois are on winning streaks and both believe they will win the fight and with a future fight with either Fury or Usyk a real possibility, they definitely realise what is at stake and the financial windfall associated with it.

Well I can when we compare it to how Fury performed against Ngannou. Fury got knocked down and struggled to get a points win with many people thinking Francis won, whereas AJ nearly killed Ngannou in the second round.



Some of the damage to Hrgovic's face were due to head clashes as well. Dubois deserved the win but I think it would have been a different fight had Hrgivic not sustained so much damage to his face and eyes. Both AJ and Dubois are on great runs so this fight will show us were these fighters truly are and the winner will no doubt face another shot at Uysk (or Fury if he wins but I expect the same result as last time). Those rematches will then be the true test to see how much they've improved if at all.


I don't see Dubois beating AJ but I said the same about Dubois V Hrgovic. Dubois needs better defence or I think he'll end up on the floor like Francis did. You really can't keep eating punches from AJ and dubois is notorious for it.

Dubois is not interim champion, he has been awarded the IBF title after Usyk vacated it therefore Dubois is a heavyweight champion and Joshua is not.

That does not mean we know the outcome of the fight but I do not see this being an easy win for Joshua in the way he beat Ngannou. I think Dubois is going to be around for much longer than Joshua and will have more opportunities at world titles in the years to come. I think Dubois will win the fight  

But during first half of the fight, Dubois looked good against Usyk. What is he tries to go all in and tries to finish AJ early? Dubois is good at fight starts, but as a one-punch-knockout-boxer, he isnt great at late rounds. Frankly, I dont see Dubois winning this. And even if he wins, the next opponent most like will beat him, as he supposed to be a level higher than AJ.


If AJ wins, imho he will stay on the same level. Dubois hold only interim IBF belt. On the boxrec, AJ is still higher in rankings than Dubois. AJ will only get money and +1 win.

As for the Joshua-Dubois fight, it is a very good chance for both to rise in the rankings, and most importantly, to earn big money.
A very interesting fight. I think that Joshua is a slight favorite, most likely he will win this fight. After two fights with Usyk, he became much better, which he showed in his last two fights. I think that Joshua is the only one today who can beat Usyk, even though they have already met twice, now Joshua really looks much better than he was three or four years ago.
Now Joshua must clear out the entire division and fight the winner of Usyk-Fury-2

I cannot take the Joshua vs Ngannou fight as a marker of improvement on part of Joshua but I can see that Dubois took massive strides forward when he defeated Hrgovic. If Hrgovic did not suffer that horrible cut above his eye maybe the fight would have been more even but Dubois deserved to win.

I am thinking on the lines of Dubois being younger and far more eager to win the fight whereas Joshua had his day and opportunities and now is past his best. For me, I think Dubois will win the fight before 12 rounds. If a decision is made by the ringside judges, we do not know what sort of results the scorecards will produce therefore it is better the fight ends before the judges get involved or any controversy arises.

They deserve each other; they have the same history; both fighters suffered two devastating losses, both were called quitters, and both fighters have risen from those losses and are now gunning for another title shot.
This event will have a good narrative, knowing they have the same traits and history.

I have Joshua winning by decision here. I based it on their performance against the boxer who beat both of them, which is Usyk; Joshua performed better, and I consider him a more technical between the two.

So Usyk as they said voluntarily vacate the IBF belt for these two to have a reason to fight. You really can see how influential Turki is for his Riyadh Season.

AJ is a better fighter today, the winning streak says so. And when he won against Ngannou, people thought he would also fall against Ngannou.
He seems to be motivated more after the Usyk loss. It's insane to see he has to fight this belt over again, he basically will be 3x IBF HW champ.



Usyk vs Joshua 3 is possible if he could efficiently knock out Dubios but if I am the one to make things happen I would want Joshua vs Fury and then Usyk vs Fury.

This fight seems to be another chance awarded for AJ to prove himself and continue to be one of the heavyweight boxing champions. I don't think he would like to lose to Dubois, no matter how Dubois tries to keep the awarded IBF title than just to lose it in a hurry as an IBF title holder.

However, the fight will be interesting and tough anyway, that will be filled with many heavy punches from boxing boxers, it's the most endured boxer will stand fit and strong without being knocked out. I see AJ Knocking out Dubois before the closure of the final round. Maybe between the 5th rounds or so, Dubois will be knockout

And AJ has really bounce back from that 2x defeat from Usyk and so he is back with confidence and for sure he will still be his prime version here. Dubois might have a slight advantage in power, but AJ too has some serious power and that he is letting his hands go even more.

So boxing IQ and ring generalship is with AJ here and also the experience. AJ's weakness is technical power so I doubt that Dubois is going to developed that kind of form overnight. So I will favor AJ in his fight and maybe he can score another KO victory here.

And so I submitted my vote to AJ.

I think AJ should win this comfortably, though Dubois did have a great performance against Hrgovic. I just think AJ is too good for Dubois and Dubois is known to eat a lot of shots and I'm not sure he'll survive AJ's ones. Hopefully the winner of this fight fights the winner of the Usyk/Fury rematch, though no doubt if Fury does manage to win they'll then make a trilogy out of that, though I don't expect Fury to win unless there's some controversy.

The undercard for this fight is also pretty good. Comparable to the 5v5 recently.

Dont know yet who I will be supporting in this fight. On one hand I like Dubois, because he is more a boxer who is loaded for one heavy punch, he is younger. On the other hand, I like current AJ, because he starts to knock people down, instead of letting fights go full distance. If we look in the future, then Dubois has already enough losses (if he lose again), to start to think to become a record builder for other boxers (because he has only 23 pro fights and already 2 losses, he should be undefeated by this time). If he wins, who he will face next? Tyson? Usyk? Zhang? While if AJ wins, he has more chances against those guys. I expect Dubois to start with high tempo and many body shots, but he will get caught by AJ overhand due to reach advantage.

Reserved

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Now that Oleksandr Usyk vacated the IBF belt, Dubois has been awarded the the IBF champion title because he was the interim belt holder after beating Hrgovic. It gives Joshua a chance at getting one of the belts back that he lost to Usyk but it also means the rematch between Fury and Usyk will not result in a unification fight.

At the face-off, Frank Warren stood next to his boxer Dubois whereas Eddie Hearn stood next his boxer Joshua.

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