Anthony Joshua willing to risk it all in world title battle with Daniel Dubois

Anthony Joshua has suggested he is “willing to die” in the ring when he fights Daniel Dubois for the IBF world heavyweight title on ­Saturday night at Wembley. As a former ­two-time world heavyweight ­champion, who has suffered three defeats in an immensely lucrative but uneven career that began nearly 11 years ago, Joshua is well versed in fight talk.

He normally shies away from making dramatic statements about the gravity of boxing but, with five days left before he steps back into the ring for his 32nd bout, Joshua acknowledged the dangers in facing a heavyweight who punches as hard as Dubois.

Asked if he felt a fresh sense of jeopardy this week, he said: “Yes, of course, but [Dubois] is fighting someone who is willing to die in there, who wants to give it everything to be victorious.”

Joshua also stressed he is ­psychologically equipped to ­withstand the challenges of the ring. “This is the thing with fighting – it takes more than being [physically] strong to be a champion and to be a complete fighter.

“I truly believe, from what I’ve studied, read and what great people before me have said, it takes more than being a ­physical ­specimen.

“It’s a good attribute but when you face someone who is ­willing to take that from you, and you’ve given them your best shot and they are able to take it, that’s when you figure out what it takes to be a champion. That’s what I’ve done. I’ve been to the well.”

Having been unbeaten for his first six years as a professional, Joshua lost to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, and then twice to Oleksandr Usyk, the rightful world champion who now holds all the other belts. His ­subsequent crisis of confidence appears to have been overcome and, since appointing Ben ­Davison as his trainer last year, Joshua has been much more assertive and ­aggressive ­during clinical stoppage victories against Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.

Dubois has also lost to Usyk but he, too, is on an upward trajectory after Don Charles became his trainer. The 27-year-old stopped Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic in his two most recent bouts. And so, at 34, Joshua still has more to lose. He made it clear that he cannot afford another defeat and he seems calm and determined before the two local rivals step between the ropes in front of a sold out crowd of 96,000.

A loss to Dubois would be crushing but Joshua said that, in contrast, the elation of victory does not last long. “Do you know what’s crazy? On Sunday morning you wake up and it’s the same. Your bills still come out of your account and you’ve got to do your washing. When I was in the Airbnb in Saudi after the ­Ngannou fight I was just there ironing and washing. It’s mad. The only difference is that it hurts losing. It takes a few weeks to get over [defeat].

“When you win, you’re on a high and you want to experience that. When you lose, you get low and it takes time to get balanced again. After the Ngannou fight, everything was good, you’re riding that wave. Hopefully we do that on Saturday as well. I’ve given Daniel respect in order to get the victory.”

Joshua remains the biggest draw in British boxing, despite his setbacks, but he shrugged aside whether Dubois is among the fighters who owe him a debt of gratitude for boosting their own earnings when his bouts are held in vast arenas.

“The only thing he owes me is a punch and that’s it,” he said. “I don’t want anything else from him. I don’t want his respect or anything else. I have to earn it if I want it. Everything I’ve done in the past, we have to draw a line under because I can’t take that with me on Saturday night. In that moment, [what happens in the ring] is all that matters.”