As Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua make remaining preparations for his or her world heavyweight showdown for the IBF title on Saturday, there might be hypothesis about how the end result of this struggle will have an effect on the heavyweight division.
(Credit score: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Anthony Joshua is the bookmakers’ favourite to win this bout. If Joshua does emerge victorious on Saturday, he’ll change into a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion and can be part of Muhammad Ali, Lennox Lewis, and Evander Holyfield as the one boxers to have gained the world title on three separate events. On the face of it, this might be an incredible achievement for Joshua.
Nonetheless, the background to this struggle suggests in any other case. On 15 April, Dubois gained the vacant IBF interim heavyweight title after beating top-ranking contender Filip Hrgović. Dubois then turned full IBF champion on 26 June after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. Which means that Dubois turned a world champion by default and never by beating the reigning IBF champion. Moreover, Dubois misplaced his world title struggle towards Oleksandr Usyk in August 2023.
If Joshua beats Dubois on Saturday, it could, due to this fact, be troublesome to argue that Anthony Joshua would then be a three-time world heavyweight champion in any significant sense. On condition that AJ would have overwhelmed a fighter who solely gained the IBF belt by default, Joshua’s declare to being a three-time world heavyweight boxing champion would have much less legitimacy. Former super-middleweight world boxing champion and pundit Carl Froch says it greatest when he argues that any Joshua win over Dubois can be much less spectacular, as AJ would have taken the IBF title away from the rightful champion Usyk – a fighter whom Joshua misplaced to.
Within the occasion that AJ wins on Saturday, it’s debatable that the very best he can hope for is that Tyson Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk of their re-match on 21 December. This is able to open up the prospect for an additional all-British conflict between Fury and Joshua someday subsequent 12 months to change into the undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World. An Usyk win on 21 December wouldn’t be excellent news for AJ, contemplating that he has already misplaced twice to Usyk.
In mild of the above, Daniel Dubois would have extra to achieve, if he beats Joshua on Saturday. A victory for Dubois would lend credence to his declare that he’s now an elite fighter, and would current him with profitable alternatives of world championship fights towards Fury and/or Usyk.
Regardless of reportedly attracting a crowd of over 90,000 at Wembley Stadium in England, the Dubois-Joshua struggle appears to pale in significance in contrast with the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in December for the fitting to be referred to as unified world heavyweight champion.
