Former Sky presenter Adam Smith said he had watched Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois spar for the British team in the past and was impressed by the bout.
Smith noted that while Joshua has looked good recently, he has yet to face anyone at the same level as Dubois.
Joshua's Recent Success
– Francis Ngannou
– Otto Wallin
– Robert Helenius
– Jermaine Franklin
These opponents were designed to revitalize Joshua mentally and convince boxing fans that he had turned his career around after two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua's trainer, Ben Davison, has been credited with turning Joshua's career around since taking over as trainer, but the truth is, AJ would have beaten his last four opponents under any of his previous coaches, or even training himself.
Joshua didn't need a coach to beat the last four fighters promoter Eddie Hearn has paired him with. Interestingly, while fans have heaped praise on Joshua's last four wins, saying he has rejuvenated himself, Joshua hasn't fought anyone since his collapse against Usyk in 2022.
If that happens, the AJ vs. Dubois bout in September will be his first real test and it may not go well for Joshua.
IBF interim heavyweight champion Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) is in negotiations to face Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Of course, the 34-year-old AJ will be the favorite to win, but as we saw last weekend, beating Dubois has been tough so far and he could be a tough opponent for the aging former two-time heavyweight champion.
The days of sparring are over: Dubois has evolved
The Joshua-Dubois fight is a long time ago and Daniel is now 26 years old and approaching the peak of his career, scoring the biggest win of his career with an eighth-round knockout of Filip Hrgovic in Riyadh last Saturday night.
It will be tough for Joshua fans to see their hero beaten by Dubois, but he is not the young fighter from 10 years ago when he first signed with promoter Eddie Hearn and expertly won a world title against Charles Martin.
“He faced a good fighter in Filip Hrgovic, maybe not on Joshua’s level, but Daniel will have to come up with a game plan. [Dubois’ trainer] “I spent a lot of time with Anthony early on in his career,” Adam Smith told Professional Boxing Fan about what it will take for Daniel Dubois to win his fight against Anthony Joshua at Wembley Stadium on September 21.
Dubois’ strategy against Filip Hrgovic would likely work well against Joshua, who has struggled to deal with pressure and a fast pace throughout his career.
Joshua is a fighter who excels in slow-paced fights, and when forced to fight at a fast pace, he doesn't perform as well. This could be attributed to his bodybuilder physique, which makes it difficult for a bodybuilder to move that much muscle without quickly losing it.
Can Joshua handle the fast pace?
“They’re going to have a plan and a way of doing things,” Smith said. “It’s good to see Daniel in great shape right now. [in Dubois’ head]He's strong, he's growing and he has the backing of Frank Warren.”
If Dubois pounces on Joshua from the first round, forcing him into the fight and not letting him rest, the fight could be over by the fourth round. Joshua's cardiovascular system is even worse than Hrgovic's, and his chin isn't as strong. AJ won't be able to take the hard punches from Dubois without succumbing, like Hrgovic did.
“Obviously, AJ and Matchroom will renew their rivalry when they meet at Wembley Stadium in September,” Smith said. “I think Daniel needs to think back to the sparring and think about how he approaches Joshua. Joshua is certainly looking good at the moment, delivering his jab beautifully – his strongest weapon.
“Daniel will have to find a way to deal with that, but Joshua has only beaten Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. [in coming back from his two losses to Oleksandr Usyk]The way he did it was perfect.”
Smith makes a good point when he mentions Joshua's recent opponents Wallin and Ngannou, but doesn't mention the other two lesser fighters Joshua has beaten, Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, who are not world-class fighters and nowhere near Dubois' level.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has been given credit for putting Joshua against these fighters to make him look good and give the general public the impression that Joshua is beating the big boys, and fans aren't even questioning the canned food Hearn is giving Joshua.
“The way he won was very impressive, but it wasn't Daniel Dubois who was in front of him,” Smith said. “It was Otto Wallin, who's not in that class, and Francis Ngannou, who was fighting for only his second time in professional boxing. So AJ looked great, [trainer] I think Ben Davison is a really good player.”
Wallin looked as if he hadn't trained for the bout and was easily outworked by Joshua in December. Ngannou, a 37-year-old former UFC champion, was boxing for just his second pro bout since losing to an out-of-shape 277-pound Tyson Fury. For Joshua, it was all just a show.
Dubois's grit, courage, and will to win
“I know Daniel Dubois has shown grit, courage and a will to win, and it's going to be a fascinating one,” Smith said.
While it may be an intriguing fight, the fight could be enlightening and show that Joshua hasn’t improved at all since his back-to-back losses to Usyk.
The only thing that changed was that Hearn took him away from world-class competition and gave him four tins of tomatoes to buoy him up mentally and give the fans the impression that he had turned his career around.
If Joshua loses to Dubois (which I think he will), we'll see which direction Hearn takes him. I think Hearn will restructure and put Joshua back on the tomato tin circuit in an effort to get fans to believe in him again.
