DUBOIS DEFENDS AGAINST JOSHUA AS BIG-TIME BOXING RETURNS TO WEMBLEY STADIUM
It’s back.
Big-time boxing returns to Wembley Stadium this weekend as the IBF world heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois takes on the former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua on an action-packed card in the capital.
Here, we take a look at a card that includes three world title fights and a cracking clash for the European Middleweight Title.
Daniel Dubois vs Anthony Joshua - IBF World Heavyweight Title
A fight that has been very much in demand for a number of years now, former sparring partners Dubois and Joshua will finally face off with world honours now on the line following Oleksandr Usyk vacating his IBF title this week.
The collision course for both fighters looked very different a few years ago with Joshua the unified champion and Dubois touted as one of the biggest prospects in the division, before AJ suffered losses to Andy Ruiz and then Oleksandr Usyk twice, with Dubois falling short against both Joe Joyce and Usyk.
Now, though, with both fighters in arguably the form of their careers, we FINALLY get to see it as the main event in front of what will be a record-breaking crowd at Wembley Stadium.
45 stoppage wins from 49 victories between them, these are two men with dynamite in both hands so do not expect to see this go to the judges’ scorecards.
Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington
A fight that has very much come out of the blue, Anthony Cacace takes on former featherweight world champion Josh Warrington.
After stopping Joe Cordina to claim the IBF world title in May, Cacace was ordered to defend his title against the hard-hitting Mexican Sugar Nunez before a deal was seemingly agreed for Nunez to step aside to allow this fight to happen. However, with the IBF confirming the title WILL NOT be on the line in this fight, Cacace must defend against Nunez within 180 days.
Warrington goes into the fight off the back of two straight defeats having lost his world title to Luis Alberto Lopez back in December 2022, before being stopped by Leigh Wood last October, so he is going to need to find the form which saw him defeat Lee Selby and Carl Frampton in the space of eight months back in 2018 if he’s going to prevail.
Nevertheless, ‘The Leeds Warrior’ cannot and will not be written off in a fight which guarantees plenty of back-and-forth action in the centre of the ring.
Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson - WBO ‘Interim’ World Light-Heavyweight Title
The second world title fight on the card sees a battle of the amateur stars as Olympic bronze medalist Joshua Buatsi takes on Scotland’s greatest-ever amateur in the shape of Willy Hutchinson for the WBO ‘Interim’ World Light-Heavyweight Title.
With both fighters coming off the back of career-best performances against domestic opposition, they will be looking to stake their claim at world level and potentially secure a crack at undisputed against the winner of Beterbiev and Bivol.
Despite having a loss on his record, Hutchinson has looked like a different fighter since stepping up to 175lbs, with four stoppage wins coming from his five fights at the weight, while in Buatsi, you have an undefeated machine who doesn’t know how to lose.
There has been plenty of animosity between the two in the build-up so don’t be surprised to see plenty of bad blood in the ring between the pair come Saturday night.
Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz - European Middleweight Title
The European Middleweight Title is on the line as the entertaining Tyler Denny defends his title against the hard-hitting and highly-rated Hamzah Sheeraz.
Originally touted to face Chris Eubank Jr or WBC world champion Carlos Adames on this card, Sheeraz will instead be looking to build on his impressive stoppage win over the talented American southpaw Ammo Williams when he takes on the reigning European champion Denny.
Sheeraz goes into the fight as favourite, but the underdog tag is something Denny thrives off, meaning he certainly shouldn’t be written off.
Giving away five inches in height, Denny will undoubtedly have to close the distance in the fight to get any success, but a big performance from either man will all but guarantee them a world title shot in their next outing.
Josh Kelly vs Ishmael Davis
After getting left without an opponent a week out from the fight due to Liam Smith’s withdrawal due to illness, Josh Kelly was facing the daunting prospect of not fighting on this historic card.
However, with plenty of offers flooding in for Kelly off social media, in stepped undefeated super-welterweight Ishmael Davis.
Davis was set to fight Usima Lima on the Catterall/Prograis undercard in Manchester next month but with seemingly nothing to lose apart from an undefeated record, he’s stepped in as the man to replace Beefy.
On paper, this fight should really be made at 154lbs with both campaigning at that weight of late but with Kelly doing a whole camp for a fight at 160lbs and Davis probably not on weight on such short notice, it makes sense for it to be at middleweight.
There are similarities between Davis and Smith. Both like to come forward, both like a fight and both carry power, but the one thing that Davis lacks that Smith has in abundance is experience and that could well show on Saturday night.
Kelly is in the form of his life and it’s going to be a tough ask for Davis to get the better of the Olympian but he’s a man with nothing to lose and win, lose or draw, he’ll put in a proper shift.
Mark Chamberlain vs Joshua Padley
Turki Alalshikh’s favourite Mark Chamberlain faces off with the relatively unknown 14-0 Joshua Padley to kick off the card on September 21st.
Chamberlain has been making plenty of noise in the lightweight division with 12 of his 16 career wins so far coming by way of stoppage, and his exciting style has seen him catch the beady eye of Alalshikh.
Padley, meanwhile, has gone under the radar. With 14 wins from 14 fights since turning pro in early 2019, he beat Jimmy First for the Central Area Title back in March last year before going on to stop the 6-0 Lydon Chircop in Malta, a fight he agreed to on just six days’ notice.
Padley may not be the biggest of names but he’s certainly a fighter that cannot be overlooked.
What a card and what a night it promises to be on September 21st. Big-time boxing is back ladies and gents and it’s back bigger and better than ever.
You can purchase your tickets for the fight at Wembley Stadium by clicking HERE
Check out our latest interviews and subscribe to get a notification when our interviews go live by clicking HERE