The September 21 boxing match at London’s Wembley Stadium between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois is set to perhaps shatter the record for the largest boxing attendance.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has announced that the crowd extension he applied for at Wembley has been granted. Accordingly, the record of 94K, which was set by the Tyson Fury vs. Dullian Whyte event in April 2022, could be surpassed by the Joshua-Dubois event. Turki predicts that 96K people will attend the Joshua vs. Dubois match on September 21.
If Joshua gets knocked out in front of a record 96,000 audience at Wembley, it won’t be good for him or promoter Eddie Hearn. This is meant to be a stroll in the park for the 34-year-old former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs), coming up against an untested 26-year-old Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), who has lost to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk.
The youth, strength, and confidence that Dubois currently possesses are factors that Hearn, gullible fans, and the oddsmakers have overlooked. He is not the same fighter who was defeated by Usyk and Joyce.
Furthermore, Usyk’s fifth-round body shot, which the referee judged to be a low hit, was enough to knock Dubois out, meaning that he shouldn’t have lost. Based on his eye injury, Dubois lost to Joyce, and his actual record is 22-1 with 21 knockouts. Joyce might easily be destroyed by Dubois if they had to fight tonight. Not even a fight would occur.
Given that fans have been criticizing the fighters on social media, it’s unfortunate that a better undercard wasn’t added to the main event. Many are not elite fighters who appeal to fans outside of the UK; rather, they are people who are going nowhere.
“Our request to extend the capacity for a record boxing crowd at Wembley Stadium for the Joshua vs. Dubois fight at the #RiyadhSeasonCard Wembley Edition has been approved. Tickets will go on sale on Friday at 12pm UK time,” said his Excellency Turki Alalshikh on X.
Peter Kadiru (18-1, 10 KOs) of Germany has trained with “AJ” in four or five instances, with this one scheduled for September 21. He has also faced Dubois in the ring; the Brit lost a split decision in Zagreb, Croatia, in their amateur match back in 2014.
“Daniel’s jab is hard, really hard, but I never saw a right hand like Anthony Joshua’s right hand. Really. His right hand is the hardest I got hit with. So they both have really good power. It’s hard to tell, but I believe that AJ got more power than Daniel,” said Peter Kadiru in media reports.