The official announcement was the only thing missing, and now it’s here: Anthony Joshua will face fellow countryman Daniel Dubois on September 21st at Wembley. The event is promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and is part of the major sporting events of the “Riyad Season,” financed by public funds from Saudi Arabia.
At stake will be the IBF heavyweight world title, recently vacated by Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk and awarded “by default” by the Federation to Daniel Dubois, who previously held interim champion status. Joshua will have the great opportunity to become a world champion for the third time in his career, a feat achieved by only a few boxers in the history of the sport. It is worth noting, however, that the value of the belt in question leaves many experts and fans skeptical: everyone is aware that the true world champion in the heavyweight division is Usyk, forced to give up a piece of his collection of belts for mere bureaucratic reasons.
During yesterday’s press conference, which also saw heated moments with the two heavyweights almost coming to blows and being separated by security personnel, the undercard matchups were also revealed, featuring exclusively British fighters. Notable among them is the defense of Anthony Cacace’s IBF super featherweight world title against Josh Warrington and Tyler Denny’s European middleweight title defense against powerful puncher Hamzah Sheeraz. Additionally, the light heavyweight bout between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson and the middleweight clash between Liam Smith and Josh Kelly promise excitement. The card is completed by the fight between undefeated lightweights Mark Chamberlain and Josh Padley.