Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois Clashes ahead of Bout

Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois had a fiery confrontation while promoting their upcoming fight on September 21 at Wembley Stadium. The two are set to contest for Dubois’ IBF heavyweight title, which Joshua first claimed in 2016 by defeating Charles Martin. Dubois, who just returned from a holiday in Brazil, was elevated to full champion status after Oleksandr Usyk vacated the title. Dubois, 26, had to change his flight to attend Wednesday afternoon’s press conference in London, attributing his aggression towards Joshua to jet lag.

Joshua, now 34, aims to join boxing legends like Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis as a three-time world heavyweight champion. He faced intense build-ups in past fights, notably with Dillian Whyte and Wladimir Klitschko, but responded to Dubois’ challenge by stepping away, claiming he chose to be the “bigger man.”
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Modern boxing often sees fighters squaring up when cameras are present. Dubois’ promoter, Frank Warren, described the confrontation as “lively,” occurring not at the press conference but during television filming beforehand.

“We had a bit of aggro – it’s good,” Joshua explained. “There are two aspects to it: the competitive side and the instinct as a fighter. He said, ‘Let’s go now,’ and I replied, ‘Let’s go then.’ No security, I just stepped away. I thought I would be the bigger man.”

Contrary to Warren’s description, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, claimed the two had to be separated, with Joshua allegedly threatening Dubois with a chair. Dubois downplayed the incident, attributing it to jet lag and saying, “It was all good and part of the fun. I’m ready to go and ensure victory – that’s all that’s on my mind. We’ll shake hands after the fight.”

Warren, who stayed close to Dubois, remarked, “It nearly went off upstairs, but you’ll have to wait until the film goes out to see it. It got quite lively during a face-off around a table. Things got heated, and Daniel said, ‘Let’s go now.’ There’s genuine animosity. The pressure is on ‘AJ’. In Daniel’s last two fights, the bookmakers favored the other guy, and I hope they do the same with AJ because Daniel loves it. They didn’t shake hands.