Joshua vs Dubois – how do they match up?
On Saturday night, 96,000 boxing fans will fill Wembley Stadium for the heavyweight title fight between IBF champion, Daniel Dubois, and two-time unified champion, Anthony Joshua. For all the latest fight odds, visit our sportsbook.
The all-London clash looks certain to be an explosive, intense affair with both fighters capable of knocking the other out at any moment.
Dubois, 21-2 (20 KOs), won the IBF interim title by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June. It was a career best win and one which saw him upgraded to a full champion when Oleksandr Usyk gave up his title.
Joshua, 28-3 (25 KOs), has been the standard bearer for British boxing over the past decade and the two-time unified champion will be looking to regain the title he first won all the way back in 2016.
There is so much on the line this weekend and although Joshua starts as a definite favourite, anything could happen.
Let’s look at how the fighters match up in a few key areas.
POWER
Dubois’ pulverising straight right hand accounts for most of his victims but he also has a horrible, thudding jab and a very underrated left hook. Maybe the most overlooked part of his arsenal is the ability to go to the body. Not many heavyweights commit to attacking the midsection. Sometimes, Dubois flirts with his shots straying a little close to the border – ask Oleksandr Usyk – but when he mixes his combination punching between head and body, he becomes a genuine threat. It may be almost a decade ago now but Joshua was hurt to the body by Dillian Whyte and if Dubois finds himself at close quarters, rest assured that he will try to work Joshua’s body.
Joshua’s rise to the heavyweight title was characterised by a series of thrilling finishes. He has been more circumspect since getting off the floor to beat Wladimir Klitschko back in 2017 but has definitely begun to in recent fights. He is riding a three fight win streak after knocking Robert Helenius out in brutal style, forcing Otto Wallin to retire after five cruel rounds and then demolishing Francis Ngannou in quick fashion. Joshua is still arguably the most explosive fighter in the heavyweight division and seems to have rediscovered the confidence needed to plant his feet and let his hands go. It is often said that speed kills and Joshua is the faster, crisper puncher.
BOXING ABILITY
Dubois is a classic heavyweight. He is big, strong and operates behind a heavy jab. He will certainly need to move his head more than he has in the past this weekend but he has good footwork and is faster than he is given credit for.
At his heart, Dubois is an aggressive fighter who likes to get on the front foot. We have yet to see him get on his back foot and try to outbox an opponent over the distance and that is unlikely to be his plan this weekend. Although it will be a risk, attack is likely to be his best source of defence against Joshua.
Joshua is an Olympic gold medallist. A little nugget of information that seems to get buried beneath his professional accomplishments. Joshua became known as an aggressive knockout artist but was talented enough to box his way through some serious trouble when tired and hurt against Klitschko and has turned potentially tricky nights against Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin and Jermaine Franklin into relatively drama free affairs.
Joshua leant fully on his boxing ability during his high pressure rematch with Andy Ruiz and outclassed the disappointing American. Yes, he was outboxed twice by the great Ukrainian, Oleksandr Usyk, but he seems to have found a style that works for him since those disappointing nights, tempering his natural aggression until he senses the time is right to attack.
CHIN
Dubois has been stopped twice in his career but, on both occasions, he made a conscious decision to stop fighting rather than his body making the choice for him.
Against Joe Joyce, he absorbed ‘The Juggernaut’s’ telegraph pole like jab for round after round, eventually taking a knee when the pain and worry of a badly broken eye socket became too much. Against Oleksandr Usyk last August, Dubois was trailing but boxing well when fatigue and self doubt seemed to overcome him and he sat out another count on his haunches.
He proved his chin against Filip Hrgovic in June, walking through a series of flush right hands to wear down and bust up the confident Croatian.
Joshua survived a war with the outstanding Klitschko and got up off the floor four times in his shocking defeat to Andy Ruiz. Usyk landed numerous flush counter punches on Joshua’s chin over the course of their two fights and although he clearly shook him on occasions, he couldn’t put him down.
Joshua’s issues came when he pursued his opponent too heavily and was clipped by hard counter punches or when fatigue and tension took over. He gets stunned but has never been knocked out.
Make no mistake, however. Neither man is sturdy enough to absorb round after round of serious punishment on Saturday night.
CHARACTER
Dubois’s turnaround over the past nine months has been remarkable. In the aftermath of his defeat to Usyk, he was written off as a fighter with every natural gift but without the self belief and heart to force himself through difficult moments. Over the course of his victories over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, Dubois has shown bravery and courage and all but erased the memory of his losses to Joyce and Usyk.
Dubois has boxed in stadiums and appeared on major cards but never before has he faced the level of scrutiny that he will face this weekend. Fighting Joshua brings with it a whole new level of attention and Dubois will need to prove that he can cope with that as a long week of media drags on. On fight night, he will need to stay fixed on the task at hand when he emerges from the tunnel and becomes the focus of 96,000 people and millions of fans watching around the world.
Joshua has undergone a similar renaissance. The loss of the ‘old A.J’ has been loudly mourned since his loss to Ruiz back in 2019, but they intensified after his second loss to Usyk. Joshua appeared lost in the immediate aftermath of the fight but has quietly rebuilt. He looks happy and confident under his trainer, Ben Davison, and is riding a four fight win streak with three of those coming inside the distance. His ruthless second round knockout of the over-matched Francis Ngannou in March was a reminded of just how devastating he can be.
Joshua is used to the big occasion and although he is the challenger, he will carry himself as the champion this week.
There is a wild card, though. Years ago, Joshua and Dubois sparred. Dubois was a teenager at the time whilst Joshua was already an established name. Rumours have swirled around the boxing world about what happened that day in Sheffield but most seem to centre around Dubois getting the better of matters.
Will those memories have any impact on either fighter’s psyche once the first bell rings? We will soon find out.
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