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5 MINUTES AGO: Anthony Joshua DELIVERED AN ULTIMATUM TO Daniel Dubois
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois clash in commercial shoot
While shooting an ad for their upcoming bout on September 21, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois nearly came to blows, with the ex-champ loosing his cool.In a pre-amble to the upcoming September 21 IBF title bout between former unified champion Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, things very nearly boiled over.
Given that this is a very early stage of the proceedings, only one day after the official announcement of the fight, and particularly that will vacate the IBF belt to make this a title fight, this has heated up quickly.
Flanked by their respective promoters, Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, the two fighters were speaking with DAZN when Anthony Joshua said, “Aside from belts and aside from it being him, I’m just ready to fight.”
Daniel Dubois then responded with, “Let’s go.” Frank Warren then piped in, “Let’s wait until the 21st!” So far, so good. All normal in the selling of a fight. But it did not end there. Dubois continued, “If he wants to swing, let’s go now.” Watford native Anthony Joshua has experienced his fair share of ups and downs in his boxing career over the past few years. However, the former world champion bounces back to face new challenges again. He has been performing exceptionally and has won his last four bouts. As he was gearing up for his next fight, disappointing news came up, which might dishearten his fans.
Matchroom Boxing boss and AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn is still getting over his loss to fellow promoter Frank Warren. However, he didn’t forget his role as a promoter as he was recently answering questions about how he plans to orchestrate a fight for AJ.
Eddie Hearn has 3 potential opponents for Anthony Joshua
The recent 5 vs 5 battle between Matchroom Boxing and Queensberry has cleared a lot of air about the matchups in the heavyweight division. A lot of things have become clear for AJ. The Brit was rumored to fight Deontay Wilder first. However, with Wilder’s recent loss to Zhilei Zhang, that prospect seems out of the question.
Of late, the heavyweight division of boxing has drawn a lot of interest from fans because of the world-class fights that happened in the recent past. Fans are a little down, though, since they were hoping to see their favorite fighter step inside the squared circle soon but there has been no word on when AJ will fight next. The Matchroom Boxing boss stated that as of now, there is nothing confirmed for Joshua in September. He further added, “Who the opponent will be is undecided. You’ve got Zhilei Zhang which is a great fight. He’s a WBO interim world champion. You’ve got Daniel Dubois, now the IBF interim heavyweight champion. Another great fight, especially for British boxing. You’ve got Joseph Parker who is on a great run.”
His promoter has given a few hints regarding the boxer’s next opponent. With some great options for the boxer, it is still undecided who he will fight next. British fans have been long anticipating an all-British fight though. Luckily, Greenwich, UK native Daniel Dubois has become the interim IBF heavyweight champion, and there is a high chance that he might face AJ in September. But the athlete doesn’t feel good when he is not inside the ring.
Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) called out Anthony Joshua after his fifth-round knockout win over Deontay Wilder (43-4-1, 42 KOs) on Saturday night in Riyadh. Zhang says he’ll fight Joshua next if he doesn’t have an opponent. Unfortunately for the 41-year-old Zhang, promoter Eddie Hearn didn’t mention him after the fight as a potential next opponent for Joshua in September. Dubois Emerges as a More Likely Option Hearn mentioned Daniel Dubois as a potential foe for Joshua in September at Wembley. That’s a fight that would sell due to Dubois being from the UK, being young, exciting to watch, and looked good in stopping Filip Hrgovic in the eighth round on Saturday night to capture the IBF interim title. Zhang doesn’t have a title for Joshua to win, so he’s not a strong option for his next fight. Zhang’s Post-Fight Statements “Who would I fight next? There’s a two-way agreement. If AJ has no opponent, I can fight him,” said Zhilei Zhang to the media, calling out Anthony Joshua following his fifth round knockout win over Deontay Wilder on Saturday night in Riyadh. “I won the match. This is the result of my team’s hard work. He had the power, but today, my defense was very good,” Zhang said about Wilder. “He hit me a few times, I felt him. I still had the power.
After I hit him, he was hurt. Then I hit him again,” said Zhang about his knockout of Wilder in the fifth. “There was Deontay, and he just wasn’t at the races,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV. “Just not the same. I just feel his belief is not there anymore, and you have to ask yourself why. Is it time? Is it something else that’s not right?