Joshua to fight Dubois for world title at Wembley; Cacace set to defend world title against Warrington

[Ledhed1]

BBC

Anthony Joshua will face fellow Briton Daniel Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium on 21 September.

Undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk vacated the belt on Tuesday and interim champion Dubois, 26, was elevated to champion status as a result.

Two-time world champion Joshua, 34, is on a four-fight winning streak and has three stoppages in his past three bouts.

Dubois has won his past two fights, stopping Jarrell Miller in December and Filip Hrgovic this month to become interim champion.

Ukrainian Usyk initially requested that he not be stripped of the IBF belt so the undisputed title could remain on the line when he faces Britain's Tyson Fury in a rematch on 21 December, but then changed his mind.

"Anthony and Daniel, I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on 21 September," Usyk said in a video message on X.

Dubois lost in controversial fashion to Usyk in August in his first bid to win a world title.

Dubois floored Usyk in the fifth round with what the referee deemed a low blow, before losing by stoppage in the ninth.

Dubois has won 21 of his 23 fights, while Joshua has 28 victories and three losses. They have a combined 45 knockouts.

It will be be the first time since Fury's win over Dillian Whyte in December 2022 that Wembley will host boxing.

Joshua will be making his fourth appearance there - and third as a headliner - while Dubois will fight in a main event at a 60,000-plus venue for the first time.

The winner will put themselves in prime position to fight the winner of Usyk-Fury.

Cacace set to defend IBF super-featherweight title against two-time world champion Warrington on undercard

Anthony Cacace admits that being world champion "adds a little more pressure" but he is confident of defeating Josh Warrington.

The Belfast boxer, 35, stunned the previously undefeated Joe Cordina in Saudi Arabia to claim the world title in May.

Leeds fighter Warrington, 33, is a two-time world champion but has lost his last two bouts.

"They will now expect for me to fight like that every time," Cacace told BBC Sport.

"I'm not being cocky or anything, but I genuinely believe I can beat Warrington too."

While Warrington is a two-time world champion, he has only won just one of his last five bouts.

His defeat by Luis Alberto Lopez saw him lose his IBF world featherweight belt and Leigh Wood successfully defended his WBA title against Warrington in October.

In contrast, Cacace is coming off the biggest win of his career, which came on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk's win over Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia, and is undefeated in his last seven bouts.

Despite a difference in form, Cacace admits it will be "a very difficult fight" against "great fighter" Warrington.

"I'm not going to take anything away from him. That's what he is," added Cacace.

"I feel like I have been watching Josh since I was 16. He has been around this game a long time.

"He's done things in the game that many could only dream of. We'll have to leave it down to the night and see what happens."

[Bear Hugger]

I can't see Dubois beating Joshua going by his last fight. Hrgovic couldn't miss in the early rounds. Dubois needs to learn better defence before September.

[robprosser]

Should be a decent fight. I reckon Joshua will fight fairly cautiously behind his jab. Dubois needs to show a better defence. He can't eat up right hands like he did last time out.

[WelshDevilRob]

It's a good fight. Both on decent runs. No way it's going the distance.

[mofo2]

Im hoping Dubois has enough in him to withstand AJ's power, but I very much doubt it, I can't see this going past 5 rounds myself!

[Ledhed1]

IBF world title not on line for Cacace v Warrington

BBC Sport

Anthony Cacace's IBF world super-featherweight title will not be on the line against Josh Warrington at Wembley on Saturday.

Cacace defeated Joe Cordina in May to win the world title, but the IBF has said that while the Belfast boxer can face Warrington, his title will not be up for grabs.

The sanctioning body has granted permission for Cacace to fight Warrington, who was not considered a challenger because of his inactivity in the super- featherweight division and was subsequently unranked.

Warrington is a former world champion in the featherweight class and was stepping up a weight against Cacace, whose IBO world title that he has held since 2022 will be on the line in London.

While Warrington cannot take the IBF title off the 35-year-old, the incumbent will vacate his belt if he is beaten at Wembley.

However, should Cacace win, he will face a mandatory defence against Mexico's Eduardo Nunez before 20 March next year.

Cacace said he wanted both to fight for both titles against Warrington and he "doesn't know" why the two belts are not on the line on the Anthony Joshua v Daniel Dubois undercard.

"It's for the IBO world title. The IBF isn't on the line," Cacace told BBC Sport.

"You would need to talk to Frank [Warren, Cacace's promoter] and everybody else behind the scenes about that. I wanted it on the line.

"I've known for weeks. It's not one bit of bother to me, but at the same time I don't really understand what the hell is going on."

Since defeating Cordina, Cacace said it has been nice to be called a world champion but he wants to keep on winning.

"I'm not satisfied with just being champion. I want to beat these top guys and continue doing what I'm doing."

Cacace admits that Warrington is a "hard man" but he is a "better boxer" than the Leeds fighter.

The 33-year-old hasn't fought since losing to Leigh Wood in October and also lost his previous bout with Luis Alberto Lopez.

[Bear Hugger]

Just read this quote from Carl Foch. 😄

 

Carl Froch on AJ in the 5th round:🗣 "It was a novice attack, it wasn't even amateur level, white collar boxing. Chin in the air, left arm down, throws an uppercut with a 2nd class postage stamp on it. He [Dubois throws ] right hand, clipped him on the chin and AJ went down. Face first, ass in the air, little breakdown move. It was no way for a solider to die"

[Ledhed1]

This was as much a matter of AJ coming up small as Dubois coming up big. All credit to Dubois. He shined when the lights were brightest. Stepped right to AJ from the opening bell and took him out. Should Fury win the Usyk rematch, the eventual winner won't be available for at least another year. Even if Usyk repeats, he's indicated he may go in another direction. If Dubois and AJ rematch, AJ's only hope is Dubois loses focus in the afterglow, as Ruiz did. Don't see Dubois being wired that way.

We learned a lot about AJ. Whatever punch resistance he had - he got off the floor to stop Wlad - was beaten out of him in the first Ruiz fight. He must've told himself, if I'm gonna survive in this game, I can't get hit like that. And he didn't; not even against Usyk who outboxed him over 24 rounds. Until now. Yes, Dubois has heavy hands. But the first touch in round 1 sent AJ's legs haywire. He showed heart looking for a miracle punch, but physically he's not all there anymore.

Hearn will keep trotting him out there. If he's gonna be competitive at this level, he's either gotta transform himself into an uber-defensive boxer, or be first in letting his bombs go. If he gets hit by one of these monsters in the top 10, he's toast.

[robprosser]

Joshua committed some real rookie errors against Dubois. Both the first 2 knockdowns were a result of pulling away with his hands down and the last he walked into a counter punch again with his hands down.

[WelshDevilRob]

Joshua's defence was poor, from the start, and his chin was way too high. Dubois came out firing while Joshua seemed in a half-trance. Fantastic win for Daniel. Seems that a rematch will be next.