Arguably the biggest British showdown of this year is set to occur as Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois have been officially confirmed to be facing each other at the Wembley Stadium [in London] on September 21st. The match-up had been heavily speculated following Dubois’ June 1st victory over former IBF interim champion Filip Hrgovic, and will now see two of the best British heavyweights of this era battle for the now-vacant IBF heavyweight title.
Whether Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KO’s) will actually step into the ring against Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KO’s) as the IBF world heavyweight champion is still unknown, but what is certain is that the title has been vacated by unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KO’s), who claimed to have “relinquished” the IBF title as a gift to both fighters:
“Anthony [Joshua] and Daniel [Dubois], listen; I know [the] IBF title [is] important to you, [so consider] it my present to you [for] September 21,” The now-former undisputed heavyweight champion said on a video publicly released on his Twitter/X account.
Usyk’s purported claim of relinquishing his IBF title heavily contradicts the reports of last month which suggested he was actually looking to hold on to his title in anticipation of a rematch with Tyson Fury (34-1-1, 24 KO’s) later this year. Prior to the Usyk-Fury undisputed bout on May 18th, the winner had been expected to be stripped due to then-IBF interim champion Filip Hrgovic (17-1, 14 KO’s) failing to get an opportunity to fight for the IBF title.
With the IBF notorious for their lack of transparency and communication to the public, Usyk might have faced pressure to relinquish his IBF title behind the scenes, which may have prompted his decision to vacate it. Regardless of the circumstances, the IBF heavyweight title is currently vacant and will be contested in the upcoming all-British bout between Joshua and Dubois on September 21st.
Unknown is whether Daniel Dubois―who usurped the IBF interim champion status from Hrgovic after stopping him on June 1st, will enter the ring as a world champion. As previously stated, the IBF’s refusal or inability to relay information through public channels make it difficult to ascertain whether Dubois will be elevated to world champion; though past examples of promotions by the IBF leans towards this being a likely occurrence.
In a scenario where Dubois will be promoted to world champion in the near future, the British boxing scene will undoubtedly benefit the most with at least one of the four world titles set to be secured by a British heavyweight, and that same title poised to remain in the hands of a British fighter regardless of who comes out on top come September 21st.
While Dubois’ potential elevation would spell the first time he became a world champion, a significant achievement for any heavyweight given the competitiveness and danger within the division, this promotion could be short-lived as he faces off against a two-time former world champion in Anthony Joshua who will have the rare opportunity to become a three-time world heavyweight champion―a feat accomplished by only a few fighters in the history of the sport; including Joshua’s countryman and adversary Lennox Lewis.
Interestingly, despite two British promotions [Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions] set to be involved in the September 21st fight that will be held in London of the United Kingdom, General Entertainment Authority (GEA) chairman Turki Alalshikh still appears connected to the bout in some capacity, with official posters hinting at the fight being a part of Saudi Arabia’s annual Riyadh Season.
A press conference will be held later today at the Wembley Arena to officially announce the September 21st bout.
