It’s a big night at the Wembley. The celebrated venue will host the dreams of Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois. Following a streak of hard-fought wins, one will try to defend his championship. Then the other will try to snatch it away to become a title holder for the third time. Considering the fact that the heavyweight division has already witnessed a highly volatile Tyson Fury–Oleksandr Usyk in the year’s first half, all eyes are on the September 21 showdown.
As the December 21 Fury-Usyk rematch closes in, the outcome of this fight may determine the heavyweight division’s future trajectory. With the Riyadh Season adding its full weight, fans already appear in an ecstatic state. Many would want to see ‘AJ’ ascending the throne again. However, there are a few who feel boxing’s prime donna weight class needs a breath of fresh air. That Daniel Dubois is the next big thing. So before the two boxers exchange jabs, let’s explore how they stack up against each other.
Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois: The Matchup Breakdown
Born on October 15, 1989, ‘AJ’ is nearly eight years older than ‘Triple D,” who turned 27, two weeks ago, on September 6. But it seems even in physical terms, the London Olympics gold medalist has some lead over the IBF champion. Standing at 6 feet and 6 inches or 198 centimeters, Joshua enjoys a slight edge over Dubois, who records a height of 6 feet and 5 inches or 196 centimeters. But it is the challenger’s reach that might be of some concern to Daniel Dubois if he plans to break in and throw his powerful punch.
While Anthony Joshua boasts a reach of 82 inches or 208 centimeters, Dubois’ hand extension reads 78 inches or 198 centimeters. As the final weigh-ins occur today, discussing the boxers’ weight remains speculative. However, for context, if it helps, during his last fight against Francis Ngannou, Anthony Joshua weighed around 252.4 pounds. Then Daniel Dubois tipped the scale at 245.8 pounds as he went against Filip Hrgovic.
Anthony Joshua feels immensely delighted by his record of 28 wins. Especially the fact that nearly 90% of those were secured through knockouts must evoke a deep sense of pride in him. However, the three setbacks he suffered during the last five years raised a lot of questions about an otherwise stellar career. Having started much later, Daniel Dubois, on the other hand, has thus far participated in 23 fights. Like Joshua, he too suffered setbacks—two in his case against a total of 21 wins, of which 20 were early stoppages. Thus rendering him a high knockout-to-wain rate of 95%.
Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois: Fight Analysis
So both Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois share one thing in common. Both are heavy hitters; neither believes in giving any quarter, going full throttle from the first bell. Hence, fans can expect a high-octane, edge-of-the-seat exchange on Saturday night. But expectations apart, from the initial rundowns, it appears that Joshua remains the heavy favorite to win the fight.
Dubois steps in with a comparatively youthful energy. While he is certainly strong, he more than makes up when it comes to speed as well. The best part is that with each fight, Daniel Dubois has displayed a consistent improvement. His last defeat occurred four years ago when Joe Joyce knocked him in the tenth round. But thereafter he began working on his game. There are still many who raise questions over the Usyk loss. Nevertheless, a big turning point came when he bagged back-to-back wins against Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic. The emphatic triumphs helped him swing many opinions in his favor.
But the fact remains, Dubois lacks the requisite experience of fighting at such a big stage with nearly ninety thousand spectators shouting from every corner. Anthony Joshua is undeniably a past master in that field. Yes, at one point many felt that following the second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua’s career was as good as over. However, proving everyone wrong, he scaled up with each fight. Starting with the unanimous decision win over Jermaine Franklin, ‘AJ’ knocked down the last three of his opponents.
As a classic boxer-puncher, Joshua could be expected to lunge forward from the outside using his powerful right hand to stop Dubois, similar to his approach against Ngannou. So Dubois might have to resort to the standard routine of stick and move. Then, given the fact that he is good on his feet, ‘Triple D’ may be fighting long to control the distance. That will limit ‘AJ’s opportunities for combinations.
As the Miller fight displayed, Dubois is not hesitant to fight close quarters. So he might crowd Joshua, leaving him no room to throw his deadly jabs. Fans might witness the two getting into tight clinches during the rounds. The key here is staying mobile. If Daniel Dubois manages to move around, like Oleksandr Usyk did, then he can smother Joshua with counterpunches during quick exchanges. He may target ‘AJ’s body as well to slow the Olympic gold medalist down.
With Ben Davison by his side, Anthony Joshua would want to continue on the momentum that started last April. Perhaps that could be the reason why most agree—it appears unanimous that the fight may not go the distance at all.
