Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois: Boxing fight time, undercard, ring walk

EXPLAINER

The British pair to meet in a bout for the IBF world heavyweight title at a sold-out Wembley Stadium.

Who: Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
What: IBF world heavyweight title fight
When: Saturday, September 21, 21:00 GMT
Where: Wembley Stadium, London, United Kingdom
How to follow: Al Jazeera’s live coverage begins at 17:00 GMT

What’s the Joshua vs Dubois fight?

The pair will battle it out over 12 rounds in a world heavyweight title bout.

What title are Joshua and Dubois fighting for?

At stake is the IBF world heavyweight title, which was vacated by Oleksandr Usyk in June just five weeks after he became the first undisputed heavyweight boxing champion in nearly 25 years.

Usyk, who beat Tyson Fury in a split decision on May 18, posted on X: “Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September.”

Where is the Joshua vs Dubois fight taking place?

The fight is taking place at Wembley Stadium in London. A record post-war British boxing crowd of 96,000 will be in attendance for the event. The venue, which has hosted sporting events since 1923, was rebuilt over four years, and the new stadium opened in 2007. The previous record boxing attendance at the venue was 94,000 for a Tyson Fury fight against Dillian Whyte in April 2022. 

Who is Anthony Joshua?

Joshua, who was born in Watford on the outskirts of London, was a gold medal winner at the 2012 Olympics. The  6ft-6-inch (198cm) fighter is a two-time former unified world heavyweight champion, having held the World Boxing Association (WBA) (Super version), International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) titles twice from 2016 to 2021. The 34-year-old’s professional record is 28 wins from 31 bouts.

Who is Daniel Dubois?

The 6ft-4-inch (193cm) fighter was born in Greenwich, London, and became a professional boxer at 19 but had been primed for the sport his whole life by his father. Dubois was home-schooled by his parents, who put a heavy emphasis on boxing for the now-27-year-old. Dubois has won 21 of his 23 pro bouts.

Oleksandr Usyk sends Anthony Joshua reeling during their heavyweight title fight in September 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London [Julian Finney/Getty Images]

What does Joshua have to say before the fight?

“I’m in supreme condition, both physically and also mentally,” Joshua said. “So, yeah, it’s good to be back. And I’ve been watching some of the old fights as well, just adding some fuel to the fire.

“Ready to rumble – reminding myself what I can do, what I’m capable of,” added the 34-year-old, who lost to Usyk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2021 and then in Jeddah in August 2022.

What does Dubois have to say?

“I need to retain it and hold onto it,” Dubois said of the interim belt he was handed in June after Ukraine’s Usyk shed the title.

“It’s a great thing to have, but now I need to legitimise myself by winning this fight. So now I’m ready to go to war. I’m ready for a fight. It’s a resurrection story of my career.”

Who is on the undercards?

• Tyler Denny vs Hamza Sheeraz — EBU European middleweight title fight
• Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington — IBF and IBO super featherweight title fight
• Ishmael Davis vs Josh Kelly — 12-round middleweight fight
• Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson — WBO interim light heavyweight title fight
• Mark Chamberlain vs Josh Padley — 10-round lightweight fight

When is the Joshua vs Dubois ring walk and fight?

The bout is last on the billing for Saturday’s events at Wembley, and the fight is likely to start extremely late.

The ring walk is expected to be at 11:30pm (22:30 GMT). The fight should start 15 minutes after the first fighter leaves his dressing room.

What is the fight purse?

Both boxers have a minimum takeaway from the bout, but the figures could rise depending on pay-per-view income for the fight.

The reported figures for the match-up suggest Joshua will walk away with $7.9m, but that could rise up to $33m depending on pay-per-view sales while Dubois will take home a guaranteed $4.6m, which could rise up to $13.3m.