Dubois Upgraded To IBF Champion For Joshua Fight On September 21st

Daniel Dubois will be upgraded from interim IBF heavyweight champion to the organization’s full belt-holder for his fight against Anthony Joshua on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London, England.

Oleksandr Usyk stated yesterday that he’s vacated his IBF title to give as a gift to Joshua and Dubois for their fight on September 21st. However, had Usyk not vacated, it’s believed the IBF would strip him.

IBF Title: A Bargaining Chip

Having the IBF available for the September 21st event required Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) to take the dangerous fight against Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) because they want/need the belt for obvious reasons.

The IBF belt is a great bargaining chip for negotiations for a fight against the winner of the Tyson Fury vs. Usyk fight on December 21st. That’s if the ‘Gypsy King’ wins that fight because Usyk May vacate his remaining three titles [WBA, WBC, and WBO] to move back down to cruiserweight to go after another undisputed crown in that weight division.

The True Test Lies in Beating Dubois

Aside from bargaining purposes, Joshua seemingly wants the IBF title for validation to help boost him after his two defeats against Usyk, with the last one coming in August 2022. Joshua has been belt-less since that crushing defeat and has gone on a four-fight campaign of beating tomato cans.

Joshua winning the IBF belt will give him badly needed in the eyes of boxing fans, and that’s something that’s missing since his loss to Usyk. The IBF title is meaningless in an absolute sense.

Joshua will gain more from beating Dubois. That victory will go a long way toward earning Joshua more respect. For AJ to earn the respect that he seems to want badly, he’s got to defeat the young gun Dubois and do it without controversy the way he won his last fight against the 0-1 novice Francis Ngannou.

If Joshua had been matched tough against four killers since his loss to Usyk, he would be viewed in a different light and wouldn’t need a title to boost him if he beats Dubois.