Boxing’s heavyweight division isn’t always its most exciting, but when the bright lights are on a big fight, very little can compare. On Saturday, we’ve got one that isn’t just big, but could be one of the most fascinating matchups of the year across the entire sport.
At Wembley Stadium in London, Anthony Joshua will take on Daniel Dubois in a 12-round showdown that sees the 34-year-old “AJ” looking to continue his climb back to the top against a 27-year-old risk-taker who wants to establish his own name in a big way.
Joshua (28-3, 25 KO) has been one of boxing’s biggest drawing cards since he turned professional in late 2013, a year and change after winning an Olympic gold medal at home in London. Though he’s had setbacks in his career – a shocking upset loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and two defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021-22 – he has pretty much lived up to the early hype, winning world titles and packing arenas and stadiums every time out.
The last couple of years have seen Joshua searching to rediscover himself in the ring. A tentative win over Jermaine Franklin led to stoppage wins over Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin, as the veteran started to find the aggression and ferocity that had once made him a fearsome force.
This past March, Joshua faced former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in a much-hyped clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Ngannou had gone a surprising 10-round distance with Tyson Fury the year prior in the MMA star’s pro boxing debut, but Joshua absolutely obliterated Ngannou inside of two rounds, showing no desire to “carry” the fight to be more “entertaining” simply by lasting longer than necessary. He gave Ngannou very little respect as an opponent and did what you’d expect a top pro boxer to do in a boxing match against a non-boxer.
That win may not mean much, but it has Joshua feeling momentum heading into a far tougher matchup. Dubois (21-2, 20 KO) can punch and can box, and has shown he can get better and learn from mistakes and bounce back from defeat.
Dubois took his first loss in an empty venue in late 2020, when he quit against Joe Joyce due to a fractured eye socket. That sort of thing always gets heavily criticized in a legitimate tough sport like boxing, and there were questions about his heart and desire. But when he was dropped three times by Kevin Lerena in late 2022, he stormed back to win. After a fairly controversial loss to the aforementioned Usyk in 2023, he’s come back looking better than ever, including wearing contender Filip Hrgovic out en route to an eighth-round stoppage in June.
Dubois and his team have shown a willingness to take the sort of challenges from which young fighters are often steered away. Losses happen when fighters take real challenges, and we’ve seen evidence that Dubois really does have the spirit of a true fighter with his continued desire to face top names.
It’s a matchup where you have two guys who can do damage, meeting at different points in their careers, a classic bit of boxing matchmaking. Does Joshua still have it, or has his rebuild come purely due to soft matchmaking in his last four fights? Can Dubois be even better than he was a few months ago against Hrgovic, and truly put his name up with the top end of the heavyweight division?
It’s dangerous for both. A loss for Joshua would have people, fair or not, calling for him to consider ending his in-ring career. A loss for Dubois would have many questioning if he’s simply not quite good enough for the elite tier of the division. The winner, meanwhile, will likely be calling for the winner of December’s Usyk vs Fury rematch for a fight in 2025.
It’s big money, big stakes, and big hitters at a big stadium. The lights don’t get much brighter.
