Former two-time world heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua looks to finally have an opponent set for his homecoming bout on December 21 at Wembley Stadium.
The 34-year-old had been expected to face the heavy-handed Deontay Wilder at the event, after Saudi Arabian boxing chief Turki Alalshikh indicated a desire to make that bout over the weekend.
However, those plans were quickly scuppered when Zhilei Zhang brutally knocked the American out in the main event of Saturday’s Queensberry vs Matchroom ‘5v5’ card. As a result, Daniel Dubois is now in talks to meet fellow Brit Joshua later this year, according to his promoter Frank Warren.
Dubois put himself into the conversation to meet Joshua by claiming the Interim IBF Heavyweight Championship after beating Croatian fighter, Filip Hrgovic in the eighth round of their clash on the ‘5v5’ event. The 26-year-old came on top after an absorbing contest, eventually stopping Hrgovic on cuts.
Dubois could be soon be upgraded to become the full IBF Heavyweight champion. Whether or not this happens hinges on the IBF’s decision regarding Oleksandr Usyk’s plea for an exemption that would let him retain his belt for the rematch with Tyson Fury on the 21st of December, instead of having to face Dubois.
Joshua will have the chance to challenge for whichever version of the title Dubois holds by the time the fight comes around. The all-British clash is expected to be a much-hyped affair with Alalshikh planning to reach out to London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, to discuss hosting a face-off between the pair at Wembley before the event. Frank Warren confirmed to talkSPORT yesterday that a Joshua vs Dubois fight is in the works.