Frank Warren thinks Anthony Joshua is the perfect opponent for Daniel Dubois.
Their IBF world championship clash was confirmed for September 21 at Wembley Stadium. The bout was announced on Wednesday between the two Brits, who have both amassed a huge amount of momentum with their last two clashes.
AJ would become only the seventh three-time heavyweight champion of the world if he is to extinguish 'Dynamite' Dubois in the capital. The latter is certainly the underdog, despite stopping Filip Hrgovic and Jarrell Miller in his last two bouts.
However, from a style point of view, Warren has previously made it clear that Dubois should not, and will not, fear the London 2012 Olympic gold medallist.
When the bout was first touted in 2022, Warren said to iFL TV : "I fancy him against anybody. He's a big, big puncher. He can box as well, he's got a great jab. I honestly think Joshua is made for [Dubois]. My personal comment on that is I think he's made for him."
Both Dubois and Joshua have suffered losses to Oleksandr Usyk, who has now relinquished the IBF crown, allowing them to compete for it at Wembley. Joshua suffered consecutive decision defeats to the Ukrainian in 2021 and 2022, while Dubois had Usyk on the ropes before a controversial knockout defeat last year.
Dubois thought he had become champion when he floored Usyk with a huge punch to the body, but the referee deemed it to be a low blow. He has since bounced back from that disappointment by getting the stoppage victories over Miller and Hrgovic under his belt.
Whoever wins between Joshua and Dubois could potentially face the victor from Usyk's rematch against Tyson Fury on December 21. However, if Fury manages to even the score, a trilogy bout between him and Usyk seems more likely, given that he lost their first encounter in May.
For now Fury and Joshua both face formidable opponents, but all roads appear to be leading towards their clash finally being made. While Dubois has managed to bounce back from his loss to Usyk, Joshua also looks to have put his stinging defeats to the former undisputed cruiserweight champion in his rear-view mirror.
After following up his two defeats to Usyk with unconvincing victories over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, AJ has since destroyed Otto Wallin and ex-UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in his last two bouts. Joshua stopped Wallin in round Five before knocking Ngannou out in the second round of their clash in March.
He's looked unstoppable ever since he linked up with Fury's former trainer Ben Davison, on the eve of his clash with Wallin. As well as being his toughest bout to date, the clash against Dubois will also be Joshua's first against a Brit since his victory over Dillian Whyte all the way back in 2015.
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