Anthony Joshua begrudgingly praised Daniel Dubois in an interview in the present day, speaking about him getting repeated alternatives after losses.
A Sense of Superiority
One might sense that Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) feels he’s superior to Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) regardless that the tables have turned of their careers, with Daniel, the IBF heavyweight champion, and AJ, the challenger going into their headliner combat on September twenty first at Wembley Stadium in London.
Dubois is the underdog for his or her combat, however many individuals consider he’s going to put on down the 34-year-old Joshua, and knock him out within the later rounds if he makes it that far.
AJ’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has introduced him again from the brink with 4 fastidiously picked opponents after his second defeat towards Oleksandr Usyk on August 20, 2022.
Manufactured Success
Hearn matched Joshua towards these 4 fighters to mentally rebuild him:
– Francis Ngannou
– Otto Wallin
– Robert Helenius
– Jermaine Franklin
Joshua didn’t look spectacular towards Franklin and Helenius. Nevertheless, AJ regarded good in his final two fights towards Wallin and Ngannou, however these had been a step-down in competitors.
Hearn could have realized that Joshua wanted lesser opposition to impress after he struggled towards Helenius and Franklin. So, he properly chosen the novice Francis Ngannou and the 34-year-old Wallin to make Joshua look model new.
“It’s going to be a troublesome night time’s work for positive. It’s simply Daniel Dubois. I stated on the press convention desk. It might have been anybody,” stated Anthony Joshua to the DAZN Boxing YouTube channel. “Daniel labored arduous sufficient to place himself there, so be it.”
A “robust night time’s work” is an understatement by Joshua. There’s an excellent probability he’ll lose to Dubois, placing the soon-to-be 35-year-old Joshua in a troublesome place the place he should resolve whether or not to take the rematch or stroll away from the loss to face Tyson Fury subsequent.
The previous Joshua would attempt to avenge his loss, however he could not as a result of it’s now or by no means with Fury, who’s exhibiting indicators of being over-the-hill at 36. If Joshua doesn’t combat Fury now, it is perhaps too late if he waits for him to get overwhelmed once more after his rematch with Usyk on December twenty first.
That one will probably finish badly for Fury until he can win a controversial resolution, as we noticed in his combat with Ngannou. If you happen to depend that as a loss, Fury is 0-2 in his final two fights, heading for retirement.
“Have you ever been stunned at how shortly Dubois has gotten there?” stated Ade Oladipo about Dubois’s fast transfer within the final two years, combating Oleksandr Usyk, Jarrell Miller, and Filip Hrgovic.
“Yeah,” stated Joshua. “They’ve perception in him. That’s why they preserve giving him these alternatives,” stated Joshua about Dubois. “Somebody on the market believes in him, and he retains getting alternative after alternative. It jogs my memory of the Frank Bruno story. He had alternative after alternative to combat for the heavyweight championship of the world. Eventually, he acquired it.”
Joshua fails to say that Dubois’ combat towards Usyk was a controversial one on August 26, 2023. He ought to have been given a fifth-round knockout after dropping him with a physique shot that the referee dominated was a low blow. Replays confirmed that it was on the beltline of Usyk’s trunks, which had been pulled as much as close to his ribcage, virtually as excessive as Fury wears his.
“You had been ringside for the Hrgovic combat. So, you noticed it up shut. How impressed had been you with that efficiency towards a man towards a man, Hrgovic, everybody on the time was saying was a high six or high seven heavyweight?” stated Ade.
“I went to the combat and watched, and as you say, Hrgovic was a boogeyman. Folks revered him. He put up an excellent combat, nevertheless it wasn’t ok,” stated Joshua. “There have been occasions within the combat the place the tides had been delivering Daniel’s favor and had been delivering Hrgovic’s favor. I used to be considering, ‘This can be a good combat.’
“I might see the place Daniel was beginning to edge, and that was right down to conditioning. He was capable of preserve breaking by brick wall after brick wall. After some time, Hrgovic wasn’t capable of handle by brick wall after brick wall.
“If it wasn’t for the cuts, I felt Daniel would have gotten him out of there at some stage,” stated Joshua.
Dubois wore Hrgovic down along with his strain, and it wasn’t all that aggressive arfter the fourth spherical. Hrgovic regarded drained and overwhelmed from the fifth spherical on, and it was apparent that Dubois was going to knock him out.
