Usyk shared a video announcing the move on social media. “Anthony, Daniel, listen,” said the Ukrainian. “I know the IBF title is crucial to you. This is my gift to you on September 21.”

Dubois is the IBF interim champion following his victory over Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia on June 1, and Joshua is No. 3 in the rankings. The top two spots in the rankings are vacant following the recent defeats of Hrgovic and Otto Wallin, meaning two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua is next in line.

The fight between British compatriots Joshua and Dubois is expected to be announced this week and will take place on September 21 at the national stadium. The event is part of the Riyadh season, a series of mega boxing shows financed by Saudi Arabia and its General Entertainment Authority head, Turki Al-Alshaikh.

Joshua is on a four-fight win streak following consecutive points losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022, a points victory over Jermaine Franklin and impressive stoppage victories over Robert Helenius, Wallin and MMA superstar Francis Ngannou.

Dubois also fell brief of Usyk’s victory in his first attempt at a world title, suffering a ninth-round stoppage defeat last year. However, he responded in style with back-to-back distance wins over Jarrell Miller and Hrgovic in Arabia, making a clash with former sparring partner Joshua a tempting prospect, especially with the world title on the line.

It looked like Usyk wouldn’t have to relinquish the IBF title after No. 1 contender Hrgovic’s defeat to Dubois, but he gave up the belt anyway, focusing solely on his rematch with Fury on December 21, avoiding the prospect of having to face him. In the meantime, questionable as a mandatory challenger.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn suggested over the weekend that the fight could be announced on Wednesday and that an agreement between the fighters was “pretty close.” Expected to be packed with high-profile fights, the Saudi-funded event will feature a British featherlight heavyweight clash between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson.

The fight conversation between Joshua and Dubois has already begun, with the latter narrating Sun: “This is a dream [to fight Joshua at Wembley]. Especially after I had to come back from defeats and fight for the world title. Now I have a chance to win the damn thing and that’s what I want. I will destroy AJ, I can only get better from here.

Boxing legend Mike Tyson once declared that Anthony Joshua would be the main attraction of heavyweight boxing after his knockout victory over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017. However, this prediction did not come true, as over the years and the boxer’s fights did not meet his expectations. .

Joshua further cemented his impressive reputation by defeating Klitschko in 2017, later beating Joseph Parker and adding the WBO world title to his collection, which already included the IBF, IBO and WBA belts.

However, a shocking loss to Andy Ruiz Jr caused Joshua to relinquish those titles before he eventually regained them, only to lose them again to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021, reports mirror.

After failing to secure victory in his rematch with Usyk, Joshua took smaller fights in an attempt to regain his previous momentum – a trajectory that didn’t quite match Tyson’s previous predictions for the British athlete.

In 2017, when Joshua triumphed over Klitschko, Tyson firmly believed that Joshua was destined to remain a top heavyweight for many years to come.

Launching the Mike Tyson Academy franchise in Dubai, the veteran boxer said: “Now everything will be about Joshua and the heavyweights. That one fight changed boxing.”

Tyson also added: “Joshua is still a kid with 19 fights under his belt. It took me 28 fights to become world champion. But who cares, he’s a champion. The sky is the limit for him now and he is going to dominate the division and will make so much money if he keeps doing what he is doing.”

Joshua has 31 fights and only three defeats to his name. However, these were significant defeats that resulted in the loss of the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight titles.

Ukrainian boxer Usyk proved to be Joshua’s nemesis, beating him twice and causing his performance to deteriorate.

After losing to Usyk for the second time in 2022 via split decision, Joshua bounced back with four wins over Jermaine Franklin Jr, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.

Joshua has slowly but surely regained his place as one of the best heavyweights, but Tyson Fury and Usyk are overtaking him, with the pair ready to fight again after the Ukrainian won his fight for the undisputed heavyweight crown earlier this year.

AJ, who is next scheduled to fight either Daniel Dubois or Zhilei Zhang, will have to wait until next year at the earliest to have a chance to regain all of his titles, but he may get a chance to regain the IBF belt next if Usyk is stripped of his title.

The Briton is the mandatory challenger for the belt, but given that Usyk is doomed to a rematch with Fury, the governing body may strip him of the belt and put it on the line in Joshua’s next fight.

Carl Froch has made a stunning turnaround on who he “always thought” would win between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Cobra believes AJ is now on track to knock out Fury in a historic all-British heavyweight boxing clash.

Joshua and Fury have dominated heavyweight boxing for the past decade, but despite coming close on several occasions, the fight never materialized. Both former champions are currently unbelted, with Fury suffering the first loss of his career to Oleksandr Usyk by split decision in May.

The Gypsy King, who claims to have won the fight, will try to regain the belts against the Ukrainian on December 21 in Saudi Arabia. However, there is still hope among fans that he will turn his attention to Joshua in 2025 after the rematch.

Former unified super middleweight world champion Froch was asked for his thoughts on which of the two British juggernauts would win if they clashed in the near future. I keep talking Froch on the fightThe 46-year-old was confident about Team AJ due to recent events.

Froch said: “I always thought Tyson Fury beat Anthony Joshua. I think he is too quick, too lightweight on his feet, has good movement and is rather natural talent. There are so many things Tyson Fury does well that can’t be taught.

“Joshua didn’t win many rounds in the two fights with Usyk. I thought Fury gave Usyk a better chance, he could have won. It was a close, close decision. Who did better in the match against Usyk? Probably Fury.

“But right now. Joshua returns after four wins and regains his confidence. He goes to the gym all the time, looks like a machine and takes his physical fitness and involvement in sports very seriously.

“Timing is everything in boxing. Tyson Fury was pissed last week, wasn’t he? I don’t give him a stick, but we don’t drink the good ones between fights. Because he was seen in Morecambe having a drink and he’s 36 years antique [in August]I think in terms of timing, Anthony Joshua will probably knock out Tyson Fury.

“AJ will go into it believing in himself and he knows Fury has just been beaten, he has fought a bit and he has already achieved his best. It’s difficult to separate, but I think reasonable money will come in handy in the event of a close win or Joshua winning by knockout.

Footage of Fury appeared online earlier this month, showing the 6ft 9in fighter being escorted by security from a Morecambe pub. The 35-year-old was then filmed stumbling and falling to his knees outside and even appeared to hit his head on a lamppost.

It comes after Fury’s most tough period in the ring in his career so far. Knocked down by UFC fighter Francis Ngannou in the fall of 2023 before narrowly winning by decision, the 12-round loss to Usyk was his first professional loss.

Meanwhile, Joshua made compact work of Ngannou, demolishing the Cameroonian over two rounds in March. He previously defeated Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin with relative ease.