Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois now ‘in talks’ for September 21 at Wembley Stadium, reveals Frank Warren

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois is now being set up for an all-British heavyweight clash on September 21 at Wembley Stadium.

Ahead of Saturday night’s 5-on-5 Queensberry-Matchroom card, Saudi boxing chief HE Turki Alalshikh made it clear that AJ’s next opponent would likely emerge from the event.

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Deontay Wilder was the ideal first choice, but he was beaten by Zhilei Zhang in devastating fashion.

As a result, Joshua’s next best choice was the winner of the other heavyweight fight on the card.

Dubois weathered a storm to stop Hrgovic on the cuts and claim the “interim” IBF belt, which could soon be upgraded to the full IBF heavyweight world title.

That will depend on the IBF’s decision on Oleksandr Usyk’s request for an exception to allow him to retain the belt for the Tyson Fury rematch on December 21, rather than face his mandatory challenger afterwards.

Regardless, the victory put Dubois as the top contender for a shot at Joshua, and his promoter Frank Warren told talkSPORT on Monday morning that that fight was now under discussion.

“Daniel Dubois proved all his doubters wrong and won the IBF ‘interim’ belt,” Warren said on talkSPORT Breakfast.

“I hope he fights AJ in the fall, we’re working on it. He did well…

“We would love to be in the UK, it’s two Brits, it would be a great fight to take to Wembley.

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“We will have a press conference later this month, hopefully we can make some announcements then.

“AJ was at ringside and I was sitting next to him actually. I was like, ‘Okay, come on, let’s go.’

“We have ongoing discussions, so hopefully we can cross the finish line.”

Dubois has already lost twice in his young career, to Oleksandr Usyk and Joe Joyce, and many fans have wondered about his heart following those setbacks.

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However, he has now battled through adversity to beat Kevin Lerena, Jarrell Miller and Hrgovic.

“He had a good win last time against Miller, where he had to dig deep,” Warren continued, “And he had to dig deep in this fight.

“The first two rounds, it took him a few rounds to get in there.

“But once he threw his jab, he took command and dominated the fight.

“He hit him badly and he (Hrgovic) was very lucky to survive the round before he was stopped.

“It looked like he was going to get knocked out, and then the bell saved him.

“But look, he’s here now, he’s 26 – there are only two heavyweights under 30 in the top 12 at the moment and he’s one of them.

“So the next generation is coming.

“Him and AJ are going to be a great fight because they’re both really big punchers.”

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