ANTHONY JOSHUA has whittled down the search for his next opponent to ONE man and is “100 per cent focused” on the fight.
AJ is set to return in September at Wembley and recently revealed negotiations are almost wrapped up.
And Daniel Dubois is the leading name to welcome Joshua back to a British ring after three wins on the road in Riyadh.
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed Dubois is the frontrunner to be unveiled as AJ’s next opponent at a press conference on June 26.
Hearn told iFL TV: “We’re focussed on fighting Daniel Dubois for the world title at Wembley but it is not all agreed.
“There’s still work to be done but 100 per cent, myself, His Excellency, George Warren, Spencer Brown, we’re all working together to make it happen.”
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Hearn is hoping the all-English showdown will be for the IBF title.
Dubois recently stunned Filip Hrgovic to win the IBF interim title – granting him the next shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s full version.
But with Oleksandr Usyk due to rematch Tyson Fury – following his historic win in May – he is not able to face No1 contender Dubois.
So there was hope the IBF would strip the Ukrainian undisputed champion to allow AJ and Dubois to challenge for the vacant strap.
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But the IBF told Sky Sports there has been NO request to sanction the all-Brit bout for the belt.
Usyk, 37, became the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed champ following victory over Fury, 35.
And now the two are set to rematch back in Saudi on December 21.
Deontay Wilder was in the mix to fight AJ but twice fluffed his lines following defeats to Joseph Parker, 32, and Zhilei Zhang, 41.
So after Dubois’ win over Hrgovic, 32, he leads the line to fight Joshua with Wilder, 38, facing retirement.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
