An all-British world heavyweight title fight could potentially happen in September at Wembley Stadium.
Anthony Joshua is scheduled to make a return to the iconic venue on a card supported by Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season. However, last night’s exciting Queensberry-Matchroom 5 vs. 5 event in Riyadh, where Frank Warren’s team emerged victorious with a 10-0 score, may have altered plans for Joshua’s next fight.
During the DAZN broadcast, Alalshikh expressed his preference for Joshua’s next opponent as Deontay Wilder. However, later that evening, Wilder suffered a defeat to Zhilei Zhang, eliminating the possibility of a Joshua-Wilder showdown with a fifth-round stoppage.
Dubois enjoyed a career-best win against Hrgovic on June 1
Another potential opponent for Joshua could have been the winner of Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois, the fight just before Wilder vs. Zhang. Dubois emerged victorious by stopping Hrgovic in the eighth round due to cuts above both eyes, securing the IBF interim title.
Boxing News spoke with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, following the Kingdom Arena event and inquired about Dubois being Joshua’s next opponent.
“I believe so, yes. We are now heading to His Excellency’s. If there is a world title at stake, which seems likely, it will be a significant bout.
“Daniel performed exceptionally well tonight. Despite His Excellency’s initial interest in the Wilder fight, that option is no longer available, so we will need to consider the next steps. There is a press conference scheduled in the upcoming weeks where we will make an announcement regarding the big Wembley card,” stated Hearn.
As for Dubois, he awaits a decision regarding his status as the interim champion. Current champion Oleksandr Usyk has requested the sanctioning body to allow the IBF belt to be on the line, along with the other titles, for his rematch against Tyson Fury on December 21. The IBF has not provided a timeline for their decision, but if Usyk is stripped of the title, Dubois could potentially become the full champion or compete for the recognized IBF heavyweight title in his next fight.