Anthony Joshua Pulled Daniel Dubois Aside In A Hostile Joint Interview, Warning He Would Smash A Chair In His Face And Saying, “don’t Disrespect Me.”
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois had to be separated after a heated pre-fight interview. The British heavyweights faced off at a launch press conference ahead of their upcoming IBF heavyweight world title bout on September 21. The showdown took place in front of Wembley Stadium’s iconic arch, and tensions escalated as both fighters stepped forward for a staredown.
AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn recounted the fiery altercation, nearly resulting in a physical confrontation. “People have encouraged him to be more vocal,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “It happened at the end of the face-to-face. Someone said ‘September 21 and not before.’ Daniel said ‘if you want to go now, I’ll go now too.’ AJ then responded, ‘Do you want me to smash this chair across your face?’ He said, ‘Don’t ever disrespect me like that again.’ They were pulled apart, no punches were thrown. When you say that to AJ, he’s a tough guy; it was a really intense face-off.”
Joshua later commented to reporters, “We had a bit of aggro, it’s good. There are two aspects to it, the competitive side, the Queensbury Rules of boxing. But there is also the instinct of a fighter. Before I boxed, I was a good fighter, that’s an instinct you have when someone calls you out. He said ‘let’s go now,’ and I said, ‘let’s go then.’ No security, I just stepped away, I thought I would be the bigger man.”
Joshua has rarely engaged in altercations with opponents during face-offs, though he has clashed previously with rivals Jarrell Miller and Dillian Whyte at press conferences.
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren also weighed in on the incident, saying, “It just nearly went off upstairs, but you’ll have to wait until the film comes out to see it. It was quite lively. It was genuine, there is genuine animosity. There’s pressure on both of them, but the pressure is on AJ. They didn’t shake hands.”
The high-stakes bout sees AJ aiming to become a three-time heavyweight champion against a domestic rival at the national stadium. Dubois was elevated to world champion before throwing a punch, following Oleksandr Usyk’s vacating of the IBF title after his undisputed win over Tyson Fury in May.
‘Dynamite’ Dubois has been in excellent form, securing his title with consecutive wins over Jarrell Miller and most recently Filip Hrgovic in June. Joshua has also been impressive, with statement victories over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou, entering the contest as the slight favorite.
Former world champion Tony Bellew believes the fight will heavily favor the former Olympic gold medalist. “Everything Dubois is good at, AJ is a bit better at. And he also has a defense. AJ’s a freak. AJ’s the best athlete the heavyweight division has probably ever had as an athletic specimen. If you put AJ in a 100m race [against other heavyweights], lifting weights, how far he can jump, how high he can jump – I promise you he’d win the lot. It’s just getting all that package put into one. As for AJ vs Dubois, I think if that fight gets made it’s over inside two rounds. I think he won’t miss him. As long as Joshua goes in with the same attitude that he went in with against Francis Ngannou, it’s over in two rounds. I don’t see any other outcome.”
