Set for this weekend across the Atlantic, Daniel Dubois makes his first title defense of the IBF heavyweight championship against former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua. On Saturday evening, the bout is set for the two champions to clash in what should be a powerful heavyweight showdown. Entering this matchup, Dubois was elevated to full IBF champion after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt and after Dubois scored a TKO victory over Filip Hrgovic in June for the interim heavyweight crown. Meanwhile, this bout is set to be Joshua’s thirteenth world title fight and would add to an impressive list of accolades for the boxer. While he lost to Usyk back in August 2022, he has since been riding a four-fight winning streak, including a strong second-round KO win over Franci Ngannou earlier this year in Saudi Arabia.
In this report, SBS will explore what to look for from each fighter along with a fight winner prediction, and more notes and information on boxing wagering and beyond.
Noted above, Joshua is coming off a powerful victory over Ngannou in Saudi Arabia. For this fight, the former faced off against the newly-ranked No. 10 WBC ranked competitor and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Ngannou. In the fight, Joshua knocked down his opponent in the first round and then won by second-round knockout. Prior to this bout, he has had a series of impressive wins. This includes a corner stoppage against Otto Wallin in December 2023. For this bout, Joshua notched the victory after Wallin’s corner decided not to let their fighter continue after the fifth round.
With a career record of 28-3 with 25 professional knockouts, the British champion is an excellent star in the sport. Though he did lose back-to-back fights against Oleksandr Usyk in 2022 (split decision) and 2021 (unanimous decision), his record is still very strong. Joshua is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion. This comes from having held the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles twice between 2016 and 2021. At 34 years of age, he still is somewhat in his prime as a fighter and can go toe to toe with pretty much any combatant in the world.
In another bout against Robert Helenius in August 2023, he won via knockout in the seventh round and looked impressive as he scored the victory at the O2 Arena in London. In his career, Joshua has only lost via knockout once and by decision twice. Of course, this matchup with Dubois might prove to be the most challenging since squaring off against Usyk so the British fighter will have his hands full in front of the electric crowd at Wembley.
Known as “Dynamite,” Dubois is a very talented fighter. Per sources, as an amateur, he was a five-time national junior titleist and British champion and he also currently holds a 95% knockout-to-win percentage. In the past, he held the WBA heavyweight title (the Regular version) from 2022 to 2023 and also the interim IBF heavyweight title in 2024. At a regional level, Dynamite Dubois has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the British and Commonwealth titles from 2019 to 2020.
Like his opponent, he maintains a stellar record with 21 wins and only two professional losses. Currently, he is riding a two-fight winning streak since losing to Usyk back in August 2023. That fight was for five different heavyweight titles and ended with Dynamite being knocked out in the ninth round. Dubois would go on to rebound though in his next fight, this time against Jarrell Miller that nearly went the distance, but saw Dubois score the TKO victory in the 10th round.
With such sensational power, the British champion has a tremendous track record of knockouts with 20 in his career. However, this could also be a feast or famine fight for Dubois as he is also prone to being knocked out as well by elite competition (twice in his career), but that is a minor blemish on his incredible resume. This fight will be his biggest since facing Usyk and also the most talented opponent since his world championship bout against the Ukrainian boxer.
An excellent showdown, take Joshua to win here against the champion Dubois. Though both fighters are British, Joshua has an edge here given his lengthier body of work and consistent success against top-flight competition.
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About the Author
As a devout aficionado of sports, Chris Boline has carved a career within the athletic realm. A skilled scribe, he boasts a decade-long portfolio that encompasses coverage of the NBA G League, the Los Angeles Chargers, football and basketball across the country. Beyond his professional pursuits, Chris is deeply invested in his community and dedicates his leisure hours to serving on boards, collaborating with community organizations, and cherishing the company of loved ones. CURRENTLY Business Development and freelance sports writing RESIDES IN Reno, NV EDUCATION University of Nevada BS and MBA EXPERTISE -Sports writing proficiency in: NFL, NBA, UFC, boxing, golf, and some motor sports -Topical news -Promotional and marketing ideas/updates -Business development Summary Chris Boline serves in a business development sales capacity as his day job. He has previously held sales/marketing positions with The Applied Companies (TAC), KTVN 2 News and the NBA G League’s Reno Bighorns, affiliate of the Sacramento Kings. He is a Reno native and is a member of various community boards including the Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, NCET and the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA). Chris graduated from the University of Nevada in 2015 with a bachelors in management and economics and also earned his MBA from Nevada in 2023. More about Chris: Past president of the College of Business Alumni Association (COBAA) 2022-23 Two-time honoree for University of Nevada Alumni Chapter of the Year (Nevada Sagebrush Alumni Chapter, 2017 & COBAA, 2021) 2021 NCET award for Professional Services Organization of the Year with TAC Northern Nevada Human Resources Association 2020 Best Places to Work-Northern Nevada, Second Place with TAC 2016-17 Reno Bighorns MVP from the Sacramento Kings The Nevada Sagebrush editor-in-chief 2013-15 Associated Collegiate Press 2015 Four-year Non-daily Newspaper Pacemaker honoree University of Nevada, Reno College of Business Dean's List honoree (5x) from 2011-2015 Nevada Press Association award for Best Sports Column – Community in 2015 Education
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