On a run of four wins, Anthony Joshua‘s next fight is slated to take place at Wembley Stadium in September.
The two-time world heavyweight champion has been building back following two points losses to now-undisputed champion, Oleksandr Usyk, and has done so with wins over Jermaine Franklin Jr, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and MMA star Francis Ngannou.
With the clear goal of getting hold of a belt again, ‘AJ’ is now in prime position with the sanctioning bodies. His most direct path is with the IBF, which is expected to strip Usyk of its belt in the coming weeks. It could well be on the line in time for number one contender Filip Hrgovic‘s June 1 bout with Brit Daniel Dubois.
The undefeated Hrgovic – who has been waiting in the wings some time for this shot – told Queensberry Promotions that the plan is to beat Dubois in Riyadh and meet Joshua at Wembley.
“Look, I’ll smash Dubois and then in September I’m coming to Wembley to fight Joshua.
You remember when Croatian football team came? It was Wembley right? And smashed your national team like 4-2 right? So I’m gonna do that again. I come to Wembley in front of 80,000 British people and I’m gonna smash Joshua. That’s my plan. But first I need to take care of Big Duck.”
As of writing, the IBF is yet to confirm that the belt will be on the line in Saudi in June. Should that not be the case but it is still taken from Usyk, the winner of Hrgovic-Dubois could well face Joshua – ranked number three with no fighter currently in the second spot – for it later in the year.
All eyes turn to Riyadh once more as fans will see if Hrgovic can keep his unbeaten record against an in-form Dubois who, most recently, stopped Jarrell Miller and silenced many doubts about his heart and grit.