September 21 is judgement day for Anthony Joshua. The former two-time unified world heavyweight champion has rebuilt his reputation as one of the elite fighters in the Blue Riband division following successive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk and is just one step away from regaining one of his belts.
It all boils down to his upcoming blockbuster showdown with Daniel Dubois at the iconic Wembley Stadium in London, where a victory over his fellow Brit would see ‘AJ’ drape the IBF heavyweight title back over his shoulder for the first time in three years.
Joshua would also become just the fifth three-time world heavyweight champion in history, and the AJ vs Dubois odds are firmly in his favour. While ‘DDD’ will be a formidable opponent, making this a top-class fight, pundits and boxing enthusiasts alike are already looking ahead to what’s next for Joshua.
Naturally, and perhaps due to the lack of other mega-fights in the division, there is plenty of talk of ‘AJ’ facing the winner of Usyk and Fury’s rematch in December. The Gypsy King lost to the Ukrainian earlier this year, and many are predicting the same outcome when they trade blows again.
Joshua’s career-long promoter, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn, recently made it clear that their focus is on only Dubois and securing the belt, he did allude to the fact that the only fight AJ will be willing to go into next is the winner of December’s Saudi showdown.
“All he’s got on his mind is Dubois, obviously, winning the world heavyweight title but I know that if he wins September 21, the only fight he will want is the winner of Usyk-Fury,” Hearn said.
“He’s always wanted to fight Fury, he’ll definitely do it, but when the decision is read out on December 21 he will want the winner of that fight because he’s only one fight away from being undisputed himself.”
There are pros and cons to facing Usyk for a third time. The most obvious appeal is that the fight would be for the opportunity to become just the second three-time heavyweight champion after the legendary Mohammad Ali achieved the feat in 1978.
The other potential advantage is that Joshua has looked rejuvenated under new coach Ben Davidson. AJ drafted Fury’s former cornerman late last year, and he made it look like he rolled back the years with devastating performances against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
Joshua has not only fought more effectively but his boxing IQ appears to have benefitted from Davidson. With a better ring presence and a better blueprint for a third fight with Usyk, who knows if AJ could cause an upset in the boxing betting odds?
Of course, the con is that Joshua loses to Usyk for a third time, and all the hard work over the last couple of years is undone in an instant. But then again, the whole point of this resurgence from Joshua was to get back to the top of the sport—avoiding Usyk isn’t going to achieve that.
A third loss to Usyk also means we will potentially never see Joshua vs Fury materialise. If AJ loses the IBF belt to the Ukrainian, then there’s nothing at stake for the British rivals. It has been said before that they don’t need a belt on the line, but would they really risk it all for nothing?
