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Associated Press

Muhammad Ali. Evander Holyfield. Lennox Lewis.
Three boxers from an elite club of heavyweight greats to have been three-time world champions.
Anthony Joshua can put his name on that exclusive list by disposing of a British rival who sees himself as the future of the sport’s marquee category.
He can do it on quite the stage, too.
Joshua, a darling of British boxing since winning Olympic gold at the London Games in 2012, is looking to complete his late-career rebuild by beating Daniel Dubois to reclaim the IBF belt in front of around 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday.
It is one of the biggest crowds for any British sporting event – and that is something Joshua is used to after selling out the UK’s biggest stadiums for years. Indeed, it was at Wembley that he produced his greatest performance in defeating Wladimir Klitschko in epic fashion in 2017 to become a two-belt world champ.

As for the 27-year-old Dubois, a somewhat accidental world champion after taking the IBF crown vacated by Oleksandr Usyk, this is fairly new territory. It’s his first title defence and second world championship fight – Joshua has had 12 of them, of which 10 have been for unified titles – as he looks to establish his name atop the heavyweight scene.
A win for Dubois (21-2, with 20 KOs) and it will be seen as a definitive changing of the guard. The pretender will then be the big man in town, with huge riches in the offing in potential future fights against Usyk or Tyson Fury, who meet in a rematch on December 21 in Saudi Arabia for Usyk’s WBA, WBC and IBO heavyweight belts.
For Joshua (28-3, with 25 KOs), it would mean climbing the mountain once again – or possibly hanging up his gloves.
“I’ve been to the well,” Joshua said. “Dan’s fighting someone who is willing to die in there.”
The 34-year-old from Watford, just outside London, faced a career reset after losing back-to-back fights against Usyk, soon after his first pro defeat – a shocker to Andy Ruiz Jnr in 2019.
Joshua got rid of his long-time trainer, set up camps in the US instead of England, and tried to change his strategy. He had lost twice to Usyk, a smaller man, and it made him realise boxing is as much about skill and ring craft as power and brutality.
The rebuild has seen him win four straight fights – against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and then former UFC champion Francis Ngannou – and each performance has been better than the last.
His devastating punching power is still there, too. Just ask Ngannou, who was knocked out cold in the second round with an unblocked right hand.
Questions are still being asked of Joshua, however. Does he belong back in the first tier of the heavyweights? Will that long-awaited fight with Fury – trailed for almost a decade now – ever happen?
“Everything I’ve done in the past, we have to draw a line (through) because I can’t take that with me on Saturday night,” Joshua said. “In that moment, that is all that matters.”

Dubois, nicknamed “Dynamite”, said this week he was looking to legitimise his status as the newest world heavyweight champion with what would be the biggest win of his career. He gained the IBF belt only in late June after Usyk relinquished it and was no longer undisputed champ.
“I need to show them on the night what I’m all about and then make the world respect me,” Dubois said, “and make them put some respect to my name.”
Joshua is a bigger puncher and Dubois’ reputation might still be wounded after he took a knee and was counted out against another Briton, Joe Joyce, in 2020 for his first loss.
Dubois’ loss to Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland, is his only experience of big-time boxing and he said it made him grow “from a boy to a man”.
Joshua made that leap a long time ago and quickly became a national treasure, unbeaten for his first six years as a pro – three of them as a world champion – and established an aura of invincibility.
After a chastening few years, he can reach those heights again on Saturday when the challenger, unusually, will start as the favourite.


Anthony Joshua bids to emulate Muhammad Ali as 3-time heavyweight champ in front of 95,000

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Boxing

A win for Anthony Joshua against Daniel Dubois on Saturday would mean climbing the mountain once again, but a defeat could mean hanging up his gloves. Photo: Reuters

Anthony Joshua’s (right) best performance was at Wembley in 2017 when he beat Wladimir Klitschko. Photo: AFP

The biggest fight for Daniel Dubois (left) was his defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland last year. Photo: AP

Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei eyes Anthony Joshua match-up after Deontay Wilder KO

Zhang Zhilei recently delivered a brutal knockout of Deontay Wilder to make the boxing world sit up and take notice. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese heavyweight Zhang Zhilei floors Joseph Parker twice yet loses, before Anthony Joshua knocks out Francis Ngannou

Zhang Zhilei lands a punch on Joseph Parker at the Kingdom Arena. Photo: Reuters

Zhang celebrates after putting Parker on the canvas during their heavyweight bout in Riyadh. Photo: Reuters

Anthony Joshua walks away after knocking down Francis Ngannou at the Kingdom Arena. Photo: Reuters

Oleksandr Usyk ends Anthony Joshua’s reign as world heavyweight champion

Ukrainian boxer Oleksandr Usyk became the new WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO World heavyweight champion. Photo: DPA

Boxing - WBA, IBF & WBO Heavyweight Titles - Anthony Joshua v Oleksandr Usyk - Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Britain - September 25, 2021 Oleksandr Usyk celebrates winning his fight against Anthony Joshua Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

epa09488655 Anthony Joshua of Britain (R) against Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine (L) during the heavyweight title match at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, Britain, 25 September 2021. EPA-EFE/NEIL HALL

How a photo of Muhammad Ali boxing underwater inspired the founder of a Hong Kong charity that teaches underprivileged people to swim

A vintage print of “Muhammad Ali Boxing Underwater” on display in New York. Photo: Alamy

Libby Alexander of Splash Foundation. The Hong Kong charity founder and chief executive shares how the iconic 1961 photo “Muhammad Ali Boxing Underwater” inspired her to teach underprivileged people to swim. Photo: SixSixty Studios

Alexander says that although the iconic Ali photo struck her when she first saw it, it resonated more meaningfully when she saw it a second time. Photo: SixSixty Studios

Meeting Muhammad Ali, tussling with a tennis legend, living easy on Lamma – Nick Lovatt the bearded book man on his 70 years in Hong Kong

Book seller Nick Lovatt talks about his many decades in Hong Kong, including living on Lamma Island since 1988 and not shaving since his wedding in 1995. Photo: Edmond So

Lovatt kisses his wife, Marilena, at their wedding in 1995 at City Hall, Hong Kong. Photo: courtesy Nick Lovatt

Ilie Nastase vying for the championship at the Hong Kong International Tennis Classic in 1976. Photo: SCMP

Muhammad Ali during a surprise visit to the East Kai Tak Vietnamese refugee camp in 1979. Photo: UPI

In the 1980s, Lovatt lived with his girlfriend in a section of Victoria Barracks (above). Photo: SCMP

Bookseller Nick Lovatt poses for a picture on Lamma Island. Photo: Edmond So

Sport

The 2012 London Olympic champion is looking to complete his late-career rebuild by beating his compatriot and reclaim the IBF belt at Wembley


The 2012 London Olympic champion is looking to complete his late-career rebuild by beating his compatriot and reclaim the IBF belt at Wembley.


Anthony Joshua

Muhammad Ali