Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois are all of the talk in the United Kingdom right now as the two Britons prepare to descend upon Wembley Stadium for a third all-British heavyweight title affair in as many years. Now, one of the country’s most accomplished fighters has named what he believes will be the difference maker as former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis looked ahead to the weekend’s action.
As Daniel Dubois has risen through the levels, he has had to prove that he is more than just a devastating puncher and that he has both the ability and heart of a true world champion. Whilst many have slandered the IBF’s decision to upgrade ‘Triple D’ from interim champion to world champion, few can argue that he has shown as much spirit and determination as any fighter when stopping both Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, following criticism that Dubois lacked the grit to ever achieve world honours.
Now Dubois will appear on the biggest possible stage – a record-breaking clash against Britain’s long-standing poster boy – and the defending champion will be made to prove his worth once again.
Speaking with Boxing Social, Lennox Lewis declared that this fight is Dubois’ opportunity to finally earn the respect of the British public that he so craves.
“I think that this is a fight where he [Joshua] can actually put things together and it is a good test for him because Daniel Dubois has been on the outside for a while, and he wants to be at the top. He realises that Anthony Joshua has got that [respect] right now, Tyson Fury has got that right now, so he wants the people to be talking about him as well. In order for people to be talking about him, he has got to do the work and go in there, impress people, and win the fight.”
However, defeating a resurgent Anthony Joshua will be no easy feat for Dubois and the challenger will understandably step through the ropes as the favourite with the bookmakers, considering Dubois’ lack of head movement against Hrgovic and AJ’s recent knockout of the year contender against Francis Ngannou.
In order to upset the odds, Lewis went on to claim that the winner of this meeting will be the man who is able to establish his jab, a philosophy that carried Lewis to tremendous success throughout his fruitful career.
“The person that secures his jab in the fight will win the fight because every great heavyweight had a great jab.”
Joshua-Dubois will take place on Saturday night at Wembley Stadium, topping a bill that features a number of 50/50 affairs that are likely to have world title implications for a host of British fighters across a variety of weight-classes, as Hamzah Sheeraz, Joshua Buatsi and Mark Chamberlain hope to edge closer to their own shots at world honours.
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