Boxing analyst Adam Smith views IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois as a live underdog against Anthony Joshua on September 21st in their headliner at Wembley Stadium.
Smith doesn’t like how people write off Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), viewing him as having no chance against the more experienced former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs).
Joshua-Dubois is a true 50-50 fight rather than one that you can pick a favorite. Joshua is nearing 35 and hasn’t fought a quality heavyweight since 2022, when he lost to Oleksandr Usyk for the second time.
It’s been too long to know how Joshua will deal with a truly world-class fighter after feasting on appetizers that promoter Eddie Hearn has shoveled into the ring for him to feast on.
Joshua’s ‘Rebirth’ Under Davison
“Look what he’s done with Tyson Fury [Trainer Ben Davison]. He’s done it with many other fighters, and now he’s got Joshua. He’s a sponge, AJ,” said Adam Smith to Secondsout about Anthony Joshua’s improvement under trainer Ben Davison ahead of his fight against Daniel Dubois on September 21st.
Davison isn’t with Fury, and it’s unclear whether he ever improved him to any extent. Fury was already an excellent mover before Davison got with him, and that didn’t change. We saw Fury almost get knocked out by Deontay Wilder under Ben’s watch in 2018
“Joshua seems a bit reborn under Ben Davison. Rob McCracken did a phenomenal job with him for so long, and he had sort of a mixture of trainers. He never really felt settled, but I think he does under Ben. There’s a different feel.
“When I saw Joshua the other day, there was a different feel there. This was weeks and weeks away from the fight. He was in incredible shape already. This is his business; this is his life. He just wants to be a fighter, Joshua. He’s learning under Ben,” said Adam.
Joshua is always in good shape, so it’s not surprising that he’s looking fit for the fight. What will be interesting is whether he can take the punishment that Dubois will dish out.
“I think Ben will work out the strategy. You saw with Daniel Dubois what happened in that fight with Usyk. There’s not many chinks in the armor, but maybe they’ll work the jab or try and get that jab more assertive,” said Adam.
Ben Davison’s game plan will involve Joshua using his jab to try and soften up Dubois the same way that Joe Joyce did in 2020. Joyce damaged Dubois’ left eye with his jab, and eventually stopped him in the tenth round.
Dubois suffered a broken left orbital bone of his eye. However, Dubois landed a lot of heavy shots on Joyce in the fight, and those same punches would be dangerous for Joshua to take.
Dubois: A Disrespected Underdog
“I don’t like the people that are writing Daniel off. I don’t think it’s right. I think it’s disrespectful. I think Daniel is a very good fighter. There’s plenty of power there. I think he knows he can tackle Joshua if he can just get his mind right, which he seems to under Don Charles. He’s a very live underdog,” said Smith.
Fans are buying into the hype about Joshua having been supposedly rebuilt to the factory-level settings from 2013 under coach Ben Davison, who has AJ throwing more right hands. That’s the extent of the improvement.
Most of Joshua’s so-called improvements are more image-related. Being matched against a string of beatable fighters has made him look outstanding. It’s like washing an old rug and selling it as new.
Joshua is still flawed in the chin department, and his stamina is still poor. What’s changed is he’s been matched against these sub-standard fighters:
Francis Ngannou
Robert Helenius
Otto Wallin
Jermaine Franklin
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