Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois are set to fight for the IBF heavyweight title on September 21. They almost fought on their first meeting earlier this week. Dubois stated that he was “ready to go now,” and his prospective opponent took those remarks seriously, as tensions increased to a tangible level.

‘AJ’ was never one to play up for the cameras, so his opponent’s attempt to do so plainly irritated him.

Matchroom Boxing just published footage from the incident to YouTube.

Watch the footage below:

Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, the chairman of Matchroom Boxing, has now reflected on his client’s tense exchange with the interim IBF world champion. Hearn was recently interviewed by iFL TV, where he discussed the sit-down, saying this:

“When someone says the words to ‘AJ’, ‘We’ll go now,’ or, ‘Do you want to go now?’ That’s one of the few times you see the switch flick with him. I’ve seen it before, Dominic Breazeale, remember? Otto Wallin said to him, ‘I’ll fight you now.’ And [Joshua] is like, ‘Don’t f**king [say that].'”

He continued:

“And it was kind of like a throwaway comment from Dubois… And [Joshua] stood up and he wanted to get his hands on him. Which is great! I’ll tell you what ‘AJ’ was up to there, he wanted to get his hands on him and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 him on the spot, because he’s a bad motherf**ker.”

Watch Hearn reflect on Anthony Joshua’s recent incident below (7:35):

Anthony Joshua opens up on recent incident with Daniel Dubois

Oleksandr Usyk voluntarily surrendered his IBF heavyweight world championship, eliminating the necessity for him to be stripped by the sanctioning organization for not facing the obligatory challenger, Daniel Dubois.

Due to contractual commitments, Usyk was unable to accept a bout with Dubois, since he had a rematch with Fury arranged for December.

Thus, Anthony Joshua and ‘Dynamite’ will fight for the vacant belt. After the battle was formally publicized, the two sat across from one another, and emotions nearly erupted.

‘AJ’ has now reflected on the viral incident while speaking to iFL TV, saying this:

“He’s like, ‘Let’s go, let’s fight.’ This, that… There’s a difference between boxing and Queensbury rules, and fighting in a hall. I’ll pick up a chair and smash it over your face. Just relax.”

Watch Anthony Joshua’s interview below (0:40):