Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois weigh in ahead of their IBF heavyweight title fight tomorrow night. 20 September 2024 Photo by Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
The most attended all-British heavyweight title fight in history is now one sleep away.
Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua arrived ready to fight when they hit the scales on Friday. London’s Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) weighed in at a career-high 248.6 pounds, while Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) checked in at 252.5 pounds.
Their scheduled 12-round IBF heavyweight title fight brings a DAZN Pay-Per-View event this Saturday. The UK launch of Riyadh season is expected to attract a Wembley record 96,000 fans. Thousands of fans flocked to London’s Trafalger Square for Friday’s weigh-in.
Dubois showed up for his first title defense lighter than his win that ultimately led to this status. He surpassed his career high weight of 245.8 pounds in his June 1 technical knockout victory over Filip Hrgovic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The performance led to Dubois claiming an interim version of the IBF heavyweight title.
An upgrade came later in the month when RING champion Oleksandr Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) vacated the full IBF belt. The undefeated Ukrainian still holds the WBC, WBA and WBO belts. However, he agreed to allow Dubois and Joshua to have a proper title fight for the Riyadh season’s British debut.
Usyk holds a knockout win over Dubois and two decision wins over Joshua.
Saturday is Joshua’s first title fight since his repeat loss to Usyk in August 2022. The great Briton saw his second unified title reign end in a Sept. 2021 unanimous decision loss to Usyk in North London.
Four wins followed for Joshua, including his first-round knockout of former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou on March 8 in Riyadh. Joshua was about the same weight as he was on Friday.
Joshua won his first major title – the IBF belt – in an April 2016 second-round knockout of then-undefeated Charles Martin.
Six defenses followed, including victories over Wladimir Klitschko and Joseph Parker to add the WBA and WBO titles. His unbeaten run ended in his US debut in June 2019 when he was knocked out by Andy Ruiz. Joshua avenged the defeat six months later in Diriyah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua is rated No. 2 at heavyweight by The Ring; Dubois is no. 6.
Below are the weights for the rest of the undercard.
Tyler Denny (19-2-3, 1 KO; No. 10 on 160 by The RingRowley Regis, West Midlands, 159.9 lbs
Hamzah Sheeraz (20-0, 13 KOs; No. 3 on 160 by The Ring), Ilford, Essex, 159.6 lbs
12 rounds, middleweight
Joshua Buatsi (18-0, 13 KOs; No. 4 out of 175), Croydon, London, 174.7 lbs
Willy Hutchinson (18-1, 13 KOs; No. 9 out of 175), Carstairs, Scotland, 174.9 lbs
12 round interim WBO light heavyweight title
Anthony Cacace (22-1, 8 KOs; no. 5 by 130)Belfast, N. Ireland, 129.8 lbs
Josh Warrington (31-3-1, 8 KOs; No. 10 at 126), Leeds, Yorkshire, 129.5 lbs
12 rounds, junior lightweight (Cacace’s IBF title not on the line)
Josh Kelly (15-1-1, 8 KOs), Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, 159.1 lbs
Ishmael Davis (13-0, 6 KOs), Leeds, 159.3 lbs
12 rounds, middleweight
Mark Chamberlain (16-0, 12 KOs; No. 9 at 135), Portsmouth, Hampshire, 139.4 lbs.
Josh Padley (14-0, 4 KOs), Armthorpe, Yorkshire, 139.6 lbs
10 rounds, junior welterweight
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