16 September 2024
Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing
| Former unified World Champion looks to dethrone IBF ruler at the top of Riyadh Season Card, live on DAZN |
| A monumental fight week in London got underway this evening as two-time Heavyweight World Champion Anthony Joshua and newly-crowned IBF ruler Daniel Dubois went head-to-head in front of the iconic Tower Bridge ahead of their huge all-British World Title showdown at Wembley Stadium this Saturday, shown live on DAZN. ‘AJ’ returns to the UK after securing impressive back-to-back stoppages against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou on the road in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the former unified Heavyweight king has a chance to become a three-time World Champion should he dethrone his compatriot Dubois in front of a sell-out crowd this weekend. Wembley Stadium is happy hunting ground for the 34-year-old from Watford, having secured three knockout wins from three fights at the famous stadium. He made short work off Matt Legg on the undercard of the blockbuster rematch between bitter rivals Carl Froch and George Groves back in 2014, stopping Legg inside the opening round. Joshua produced the performance of a lifetime to claim the WBA crown against modern legend Wladimir Klitschko in an unforgettable battle in front of a post war record crowd of 90,000 at England’s national stadium in April 2017, before returning to fight under the iconic arch a year later as he defended his World Titles against Alexander Povetkin. Speaking to Matchroom Boxing, Joshua said: “It’s another day for me. We’re going to do some media stuff. Spirits are good actually. I’ve prepared for this so it’s not taking time out of my schedule. It fits in well. It’s another day, another lion in the jungle. It’s another lion ready to hunt. It’s just another day for me. “Preparation is everything. If you prepare you’re relaxed because you’ve taken yourself there physically, you’ve taken yourself there mentally and you truly believe in yourself. I’m good.” When asked what it would mean to him to become a three-time Heavyweight World Champion, Joshua insisted that his sole focus was on putting in another memorable performance with his new training team headed up by Ben Davison out of the BD Performance Centre in Harlow, Essex. “I’m not looking that far ahead because that’s just the icing on the cake. I’ve said to myself, precisely, performance is the most important thing for me. Mentality is the most important thing for me. All of the other stuff will follow that. “Three-time, I’ve done it once I’ve done it twice – nothing has really changed and I’ve had to work extremely hard to improve my performance so I’m fully focused on my performances. That’s what will bring me all the glitz and glam and glory.” Dubois heads into his highly-anticipated showdown with Joshua coming off the back of a career-best win over Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic on the Queensberry vs. Matchroom card last June. The pair know each other well having shared rounds of sparring in Sheffield, and Joshua is confident that he will have too much experience for his younger rival. “50% better than what I’ve seen, but I’m well-prepared physically and mentally. I think the fans will be in for an entertaining night for sure. There’s only one way and I know exactly what I’m going to do. I’m not leaving it up to ‘any way’, I know exactly what I’m going to do and I know exactly what I’ve got to do and I’ll do it.” Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn has been at Joshua’s side every step of the way of his extraordinary career since the London 2012 Olympic Champion joined the professional ranks with the Essex based promotional powerhouse in 2013, and the megastar was full of praise for the man who guided him to unified World Titles in boxing’s glamour division. “Yeah it’s been massive,” said Joshua. “It’s been massive for my development in and out of the ring. In the ring it’s been sensational, even throughout the times that haven’t been so good – but what a story it is. The man knows boxing as well. To speak to him outside of actual competing and business, talking about boxing in general – it’s helped me develop. I met Eddie when I was probably, what, 20? 21? I’m now 34, going to be 35 next month, so it’s been a long journey and a fruitful one as well for both of us.” Joshua vs. Dubois tops a blockbuster night of action in Wembley, Birmingham’s TylerDenny (19-2-3, 1 KO) defends his EBU European Middleweight Title against Ilford’s Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 16 KOs), Belfast’s IBF Super-Featherweight World ChampionAnthony Cacae (22-1, 8 KOs) meets Leeds’ former two-time Featherweight World Champion Josh Warrington (31-3-1, 8 KOs) in an electric 130 pounds match-up, Sunderland’s Josh Kelly (15-1-1, 8 KOs) takes on late replacement Ishmael Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) at Middleweight, Croydon’s Joshua Buatsi (18-0, 13 KOs) and Scotland’s WillyHutchinson (18-1, 13 KO) clash for the interim WBO Light-Heavyweight World Title and Portsmouth Lightweight Mark Chamberlain (16-0, 12 KOs) puts his undefeated record on the line against Yorkshire’s Josh Padley (14-0, 4 KOs). |
Please follow and like us:
