Our selections for Saturdays all-British heavyweight clash at Wembley include a win for Anthony Joshua by late stoppage.
Anthony Joshua takes on fellow Briton Daniel Dubois in a huge heavyweight showdown at Wembley.
Joshua returns to the ring after seeing off Francis Ngannou in March and is aiming to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he goes up against IBF champ Dubois.
This will be AJ’s first world title fight since he lost to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time in August 2022 and he knows victory could land him a future mouth-watering undisputed world title bout against either Tyson Fury or Usyk again.
Dubois has earned his crack at Joshua thanks to an impressive stoppage success over Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic in June which saw him become IBF interim champion, before he was promoted to full champion after Usyk’s decision to vacate the belt.
Best bets
Anthony Joshua to win – 1/4
Over 7.5 rounds – 5/6
Anthony Joshua to win in rounds 10-12 – 5/1
Joshua should prevail in battle of Brits
Joshua is the favourite to come out on top in front of a packed Wembley crowd and he should deliver to complete the rebuilding process he started with victory over Jermaine Franklin last year.
After his agonising second loss to Usyk in Saudi Arabia two years ago, AJ has recovered well, seeing off Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Ngannou.
He knows he must dispose of Dubois if he wants another crack at Usyk or to finally get the chance to take on Fury and his greater experience should tell on the night.
Joshua’s record is 28-3 with 25 of those wins coming via knockout, while fellow Brit Dubois is 21-2 (20 by KO) as he prepares for his first tough heavyweight title defence.
Early finish unlikely
While it seems unlikely that the fight will go the distance, there should still be plenty of entertainment to captivate the huge Wembley crowd.
Joshua seems set to extend his fine record of winning 25 of his fights inside the distance but it could be the latter stages before the 34-year-old truly underlines his dominance on Saturday night.
Joshua has won his last two fights with plenty to spare, claiming victory over Wallin in the fifth round, before stopping Ngannou in the second.
However, this is expected to be a stiffer test against a fired-up Dubois. With what is at stake for both men, the contest could begin in a cagey fashion before AJ is tipped to take control beyond round seven and therefore over 7.5 total rounds appeals at 5/6.
Joshua to bide his time
Joshua is well aware just how dangerous Dubois can be and even though AJ is expected to triumph, he will be preparing for the possibility of a lengthy fight.
Dubois is a step up from Joshua’s previous three opponents and in both of his professional losses he made it to the ninth round, losing to Joe Joyce in the 10th in November 2020 and then to Usyk in the ninth last summer.
He has proven pedigree in the ring with fighters of equal or better calibre than Joshua and he will have a plan to try and stay in contention before attempting to cause a big upset.
While that may not materialise as Joshua is expected to grind him down, the final three rounds could be explosive as both fighters push for victory with Joshua fancied to seal it late on.
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