Anthony Joshua is poised to take on Daniel Dubois in just three months’ time in a bout that could potentially see ‘AJ’ crowned as boxing’s fifth three-time heavyweight champion. With an announcement imminent, rumours have begun as to who may appear on the undercard and it seems that Joshua and Dubois may not be the only two Briton’s embroiled in a heavyweight title clash.
Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke each put their undefeated records on the line when they went toe-to-toe for the British heavyweight title back in March.
In a domestic classic for the prestigious Lonsdale belt, neither man was able to take full control of what turned out to be a barnstormer at the O2 Arena and both men hung on to their unbeaten records as a result, with Wardley hanging on to the belt, as the contest was ruled as a draw.
Despite a rematch being expected to be announced once their injuries had healed, whispers of a second showdown between the hard-hitting duo had gone quiet. However, Frazer Clarke’s promoter Ben Shalom has told Seconds Out that Wardley-Clarke II could land on Turki Al-Alshikh’s Anthony Joshua card at Wembley Stadium.
“I can’t lie, we would have loved to do that rematch and we were hoping to do it at the end of August. For whatever reason, it hasn’t happened but there is potential I hear for it to come on the Saudi card on September 21st, which is another huge option.
“To be honest, as Frazer said, both of their stocks rose incredibly from that fight and I would love to see the rematch. I hope that it happens, I think that it can happen but if it doesn’t [happen next] then hopefully we see it one day.”
“I think that now is the right time [for the rematch to happen] because you know that in heavyweight boxing, you go in different routes and different things happen.
“For me, seeing Frazer Clarke have that sort of performance in his eighth professional fight was impressive to me and I think that he has a lot of room to grow as well and he learnt a lot from that fight. He is going to be up there at the top of the heavyweight division.”
Aside from those two heavyweight battles, the other fight being mentioned is a middleweight affair which would pit recently-confirmed free-agent Chris Eubank Jr. against undefeated rising star Hamzah Sheeraz, with the winner likely to move on to a world title shot afterwards.
A full announcement of the Joshua-Dubois card will take place in London on June 25th according to Al-Alshikh. Although, it appears as though rumours of an appearance from Naoya Inoue are inaccurate, as the Japanese sensation is now linked to a headline attraction against TJ Doheny in Japan – for what will be a second defence of his undisputed super-bantamweight title.
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