Daniel Dubois backed to beat Anthony Joshua and become face of British boxing (original) (raw)

Daniel Dubois will defend his heavyweight world title against two-time champion Anthony Joshua at Wembley this weekend

Daniel Dubois takes on Anthony Joshua this weekend

Daniel Dubois takes on Anthony Joshua this weekend

Daniel Dubois is primed to topple Anthony Joshua and take on the mantle as the face of British heavyweight boxing.

Dubois has recovered from crushing defeats by Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk and battled accusations of quitting in both fights. But against the odds he has been crowned world champion - albeit out of the ring - and will defend his title against Joshua on Saturday night. Dubois, 27, stopped Filip Hrgovic three months ago to become the interim champion before being upgraded when Usyk gave up his IBF belt ahead of his Christmas rematch with Tyson Fury.

And the Brit's promoter Frank Warren believes his man's time has come ahead of a Wembley showdown which could attract a record 96,000-strong crowd. "This is a great opportunity for him," said Warren. "Joshua had an impeccable amateur record and is a two-time world champion as a professional. He's a big favourite but in Daniel's last three fights he has fought much much better opposition than Joshua has, he's really stepped up against well-ranked guys.

"I think he gave Usyk a much tougher fight than Joshua did and his last three opponents were all undefeated. He's matured so much, not just physically but mentally as well. He's found his voice; he used to be quiet and not say much to his opponents but now he's not frightened to say how he feels. He's going into this fight without the fear factor. There is always the end of an era in boxing, that's what happens. People reach their peak and the new guy on the block comes along and takes over.

"Daniel has had a good grounding. What people forget about him is he turned professional five years younger than Joshua did and if you look at his opponents, he's fought at a very high level, probably higher than most of the heavyweights out there. Boxing is about winners and the British public love their fighters and if Daniel comes through, they're going to love him even more. I think he can be a great ambassador for British boxing."

Dubois and Joshua, 34, boast 45 knockouts between them from a combined 54 professional bouts with few believing their meeting will go the distance. And Warren believes there will be no room for hesitancy at the national stadium. "When you've got two big punchers in the ring and they're throwing bombs, that's when they're vulnerable," he added. "

You can be winning the fight and suddenly you get clipped. I've seen fights where someone is 11 rounds behind and they pull it out in the last round. That's what big punchers do and these guys are certainly big punchers. "I've said to Daniel, and I'm not giving tactics away, this fight is about establishing his dominance. That's what it's going to be about; the one who goes on the back foot first will get beat, that's how I look at it."

Watch Riyadh Season Card: Joshua v Dubois, live on TNT Sports Box Office from 4pm on Saturday, September 21. Find out more at tntsports.co.uk/boxoffice