Anthony Joshua has revealed that the negotiations for his next fight are “nearly finished” for his September 21st clash at Wembley Stadium in London.
Potential Opponents: Dubois or Zhang?
Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) isn’t giving any hints about who might be standing across from him inside the ring that night, but the heavyweights running for that match are Daniel Dubois and Zhilei Zhang.
AJ’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been adamant that the IBF heavyweight title must be at stake for Joshua to face Dubois.
That’s understandable because it’s a risky fight for Joshua, who turns 35 in October and hasn’t fought a tough opponent since losing to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
Hearn doesn’t want to put Joshua at risk unless he can pick up a piece of gold and the IBF belt is available for the Dubois clash. If the title isn’t available, Joshua would likely choose Zhilei Zhang.
‘Big Bang’ Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KOs) is coming off an impressive fifth-round knockout win over former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder on June 1st, and there would be a lot of interest from fans in seeing if Joshua can stand up to the powerful southpaw’s punches.
Joseph Parker: A Dark Horse Contender?
“Zhang deserves the opportunity based on his performances, but so does Joseph Parker,” said Gareth A. Davies to Boxing King Media about who should Anthony Joshua fight on September 21st at Wembley Stadium.
“Joseph Parker has just as much right to fight Anthony Joshua as Zhilei Zhang does and as Daniel Dubois does. We might get the curve ball, and it might be Joseph Parker. AJ is a major crossover star, and he’ll do 60,000 just on his own.”
Parker’s selection as Joshua’s next opponent raises two major problems. The first concerns his dull fighting style, which has become very defensive since his knockout loss to Zhang.
Parker is this era’s version of Jimmy Young and Chris Byrd. The other problem that would keep Parker from getting the fight against Joshua is that he already lost to him by a one-sided 12-round decision in a painfully boring fight in 2018, and the fans who remember that contest won’t want to see him trotted out as AJ’s opponent on September 21st at Wembley Stadium.
“If Daniel Dubois fights Anthony Joshua, he’s got to take it to him. He’s got to be aggressive in that fight. He can’t sit back. In my view, he’s got to go from the off,” said Gareth.
“He’s got to take everything he’s learned in the Oleksandr Usyk fight and in the Filip Hrgovic fight and in the Jarrell Miller fighter and put them all into action at the same time. He could upset the apple cart.”
Dubois has got to take the fight to Joshua because if he hangs back, he’ll get speared to the head like Francis Ngannous and be knocked out quickly. Joshua hates being pressured, and he tends to get nervous when someone puts it on him, like Andy Ruiz did in their first fight.
“I see it as a 60-40 fight for Joshua. Joshua against Daniel Dubois,” said Gareth when asked who he believes will be the main event on September 21st at Wembley Stadium.
Nearly finished my negotiations for my next fight! Feeling motivated. pic.twitter.com/6zDia30cIN
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) June 18, 2024
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