ANTHONY JOSHUA has warned Daniel Dubois he is willing to die in the ring.
The Watford warrior has dumped the cautious approach that saw him trying to avoid danger.
Under trainer Ben Davison, AJ 2.0 is bullish, spiteful and ruthless.
And he is once again ready to go to the darkest corners to become a three-time world heavyweight champion by defeating IBF king Dubois at Wembley on Saturday.
Joshua insisted: “He’s fighting someone who is willing to die in there — who wants to give it everything to be victorious.
“It takes more than being strong to be a champion and to be a complete fighter.
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“It’s good, of course, but I truly believe from what I’ve studied, read and what great people who have come before me have said, it takes more than being a physical specimen.
“It’s a good attribute but when you come across someone who is willing to take that from you, 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.”
Joshua risked everything in his first Wembley win, over Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 — climbing off the deck in the fifth round and barely recovering until the eighth.
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Joshua vs Dubois predictions
Oleksandr Usyk: “My favourite is Anthony Joshua but I am very bad at predictions. But I will predict Anthony Joshua.”
Dillian Whyte: “I just think that it’s one of those fights where it is a genuine 50/50 fight in my opinion.”
Joe Joyce: “I was initially edging with Joshua but I don’t know, Dubois is coming on.”
Frazer Clarke: “As heavy-handed as Dubois is and as good a fighter as he’s becoming, I still have to go for Joshua.”
Francis Ngannou: “Even though Joshua lost against Usyk twice and Dubois fought Usyk and almost knocked him down and almost won, I would still give this to Joshua.”
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But the 2019 shock loss to Andy Ruiz, where he was dropped four times and lost his world crowns for the first time, led Joshua to a drastic change in fighting style and mindset.
In the cautious rematch win over Mexican Ruiz, the prolonged stoppage of Kubrat Pulev, the painful points losses to Oleksandr Usyk and the two tedious rebuild wins, he boxed at range and avoided danger.
But since linking up with trainer Davison, the former Olympic king has made a bloody mess of Otto Wallin and destroyed Francis Ngannou, the MMA specialist who deserved a points decision against Tyson Fury four months earlier.
It was Usyk who dethroned Joshua as world heavyweight champ for the second time in September 2021.
Eleven months later, the Ukrainian genius had too much for AJ again — and the Englishman had a bizarre post-fight strop, throwing the championship belts to the floor and arguing with his team.
Tearful Joshua, 34, later apologised for what he saw as letting down the nation.
Filling Wembley, once again, with a record-breaking 96,000 fans paying to watch the all-English clash should feel like redemption.
Dubois, 27, won the interim IBF belt by stopping Filip Hrgovic in June. The Londoner became full champ when Usyk vacated the crown.
But Joshua joked that another nightmare evening could spark an even more fearsome tantrum that will take him tearing through the VIP seats and up into the Gods.
ANTHONY JOSHUA VS DANIEL DUBOIS: All the information you need ahead of huge world title fight at Wembley
He joked: “If I f***ing lose I’ll get even worse . . . I’ll be up in the stadium tearing the place up!
“The fans are there. Some want to see me there so I need to do a job.
“It has been a blessing and I don’t take it for granted. I’ve given Dan the respect he deserves in terms of my preparation.
“I’ve given the 96,000 fans the respect by preparing myself to compete and travelling around the world to find coaches and a home where I can improve.
“I just need to do it on Saturday night now. I just want to make sure everyone who comes to support me leaves there feeling like ‘we did it’.”
As usual there is some focus on accusations of Saudi Arabia using high-level sport to wash their reputation as a dictatorship.
But Joshua, like most of the other working-class lads in the most brutal business of all, is more concerned with laundering dirty kit in the aftermath of his latest battle.
He grinned: “You know what’s crazy, on Sunday morning you wake up and it’s the same. Your bills still come out of your account, you’ve got to do your washing.
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“I was in Saudi in the Airbnb, after the Francis Ngannou fight.
“I was just there ironing and washing after the Ngannou fight. It’s mad. The only difference is that it hurts losing.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
