Frank Warren gives update on Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois negotiations with Wembley date looming



Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois
Joshua and Dubois on collision course for September (Picture: Getty)

Frank Warren has confirmed talks are underway for Anthony Joshua to fight Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September.

Joshua has been lined up to return to the ring after the summer and headline at Wembley for the first time since 2018.

A number of potential opponents were in the frame but Dubois put himself at the top of the list with a thrilling victory over Filip Hrgovic on Saturday night’s Matchroon vs Queensberry card in Saudi Arabia.

A long-awaited meeting with Deontay Wilder was thought to be the ideal choice but ‘The Bronze Bomber’ suffered a devastating defeat to Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang on the same night.

Dubois called out Joshua in the aftermath with the two-time heavyweight champion, who was in attendance in Saudi that night, seemingly welcoming the prospect of a huge all-British showdown against the Londoner.

Warren has promoted Dubois since his professional debut and with him and Eddie Hearn now working closely together, he believes the fight will be made.

‘Daniel Dubois proved all his doubters wrong and won the IBF ‘interim’ belt,’ Warren told talkSPORT.

5v5: Queensberry v Matchroom - Fight Night
Dubois got a brilliant win over Hrgovic (Picture: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing/Getty Images)

‘He hopefully will be fighting AJ in the autumn, we’re working on that. He did well.

‘We would love it to be in the UK, they’re two Brits, it would be a great fight to put on at Wembley.

‘We do have a press conference later on this month, hopefully then we can make some announcements.

‘AJ was ringside and I was sitting next to him in fact. I said to him, ‘Right, come on, let’s get this on.’

‘We’ve got discussions going on so hopefully we can get it over the line.’

Joshua vs Dubois could also be fought for a world title. In beating Hrgovic, Dubois became the IBF ‘interim’ champion with Oleksandr Usyk holding the full world title.

The Ukrainian could yet be forced to vacate the belt, however, having already agreed to his rematch with Fury which will take place on 21 December instead of fighting the sanctioning body’s mandatory challenger.

In those circumstances, Dubois could be elevated to full champion in time to fight Joshua – or fight him with the vacant belt on the line.

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