Joshua To Face Dubois For IBF Heavyweight Title September 21

Anthony Joshua will face Daniel Dubois in an all-British heavyweight clash for the IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

Oleksandr Usyk announced on Tuesday that he had vacated the IBF belt, which means Joshua can regain one of the world titles he previously held if he defeats Dubois, who has been upgraded from IBF interim title holder to the IBF champion.

Joshua has marched back up the heavyweight ranks after suffering two consecutive losses to Usyk, who went on to become the undisputed world champion with his stunning victory over Tyson Fury last month.

The 34-year-old Joshua was outpointed by Usyk in two fights that spanned 2021 and 2022.

He returned with a points win over Jermaine Franklin in 2023, but then followed up with stoppage victories over Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin later that year.

He’s boxed once this year already, taking out Francis Ngannou in just two rounds.

Ngannou, a former UFC champion in MMA, was an inexperienced boxer, but he had managed to go the 10-round distance with Tyson Fury in his first professional boxing bout.

Dubois, who previously held a version of the WBA title, has also rebuilt successfully from a loss to Usyk.

The 26-year-old challenged Usyk for the WBO, WBA and IBF titles at the Wroclaw Stadium in Poland last August. Dubois put in a game effort, pressing the Ukrainian initially. Usyk had to rise from a low blow, a ruling which Dubois and his team still dispute, to halt Dubois in the ninth round.

Dubois though went on to grind down Jarrell Miller in December and at the start of this month pounded Filip Hrgovic to a halt to win the IBF Interim strap.