Yesterday, promoter Frank Warren expressed his belief that current IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) will knock out former three-belt titlist Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) in their September 21 showdown, stating that the evolved version of Dubois is now better prepared.
Frank Warren said, “At this point, I’m more confident than ever that Dubois will defeat Joshua. There’s no doubt that Dubois has matured and delivered two incredible performances. In both of those fights, he wasn’t expected to win, but he demonstrated what truly matters. I predict that on September 21, Dubois will KO Joshua if he seizes an opportunity. Dubois is still young at just 26, and I’ve seen Joshua struggle under pressure from opponents before. This will be a battle of jabs, willpower, and mindset. Both Joshua and Dubois are power punchers, so it won’t go the full 12 rounds. I genuinely believe that Dubois possesses the ability to knock out Joshua.”
Last August, Dubois was knocked out by Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in the ninth round, although he himself chose to end the fight, possibly unable to withstand Usyk’s combinations, despite replays showing that Dubois didn’t sustain significant damage.
Since then, Dubois secured impressive victories by TKOing American Gerald Miller (26-1-1, 22 KOs) in ten rounds and IBF number one contender Filip Hrgović (17-1, 14 KOs) in eight rounds, proving his mettle.
