Anthony Joshua addresses Daniel Dubois sparring rumour: ‘He apparently took my lights out’

The British heavyweights will square off on 21 September, vying for the IBF title at Wembley

In a long-awaited joint-interview, Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois played coy on the subject of their past sparring sessions ahead of their fight this month.

The British heavyweights will square off at Wembley Stadium on 21 September, as Dubois defends the IBF title against the former two-time unified champion.

On the day that the fight was announced in June, “AJ” and Dubois conducted a joint-interview alongside their respective promoters – Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren – with the full episode withheld until last weekend. However, one short clip was released in June, showing Joshua threatening to “throw this f***ing chair” across Dubois’s face.

And in the full interview, released by DAZN at the weekend, the conversation turned to the fighters’ past sparring sessions.

“Yeah, [we sparred] loads of times,” Joshua said. “Daniel apparently took my lights out.”

Dubois replied: “Listen, I’m not here to spar, I’m here to fight, so let’s talk about the fight. That happened seven years ago. This is not sparring.”

Joshua’s promoter Hearn then referred to Dubois’s stoppage win over Filip Hrgovic in June, saying: “I mean, they said Hrgovic destroyed him in sparring. Look what happened [in their professional fight].”

Anthony Joshua at the launch press conference for his fight with Daniel Dubois (Getty Images)

Warren quickly added: “They say that, but that’s not what happened [with Hrgovic]. And that didn’t happen [with Joshua]. The fact of the matter is: they’re not sparring. Whatever happened seven years ago, happened seven years ago.”

Joshua then asked: “What happened seven years ago? Everyone tries to underestimate me, use my name for clout, boost their career.”

Warren, turning to Dubois, said: “What was you, 17? It was before you turned pro. It was years ago, he was a kid.”

Dubois claimed the interim IBF title with his win against Hrgovic, before being elevated to official champion when Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the regular belt. The 26-year-old will defend his gold for the first time when he faces Joshua, 34, who is aiming to become a three-time world champion.

Dubois in conversation with The Independent in May (Andrew Cuthbert)

AJ will enter Wembley on a four-fight win streak, having beaten Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou since early 2023. Prior to those fights, Joshua suffered back-to-back decision losses to Usyk.

Meanwhile, Dubois’s TKO wins over Hrgovic in June and Jarrell Miller in December saw him bounce back from a stoppage loss to Usyk last August.

And when Joshua and Dubois clash, their fight is expected to break the all-time attendance record for a British boxing event. The record currently stands at 94,000, for Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte at Wembley Stadium in 2022.

The first batch of Joshua vs Dubois tickets sold out before a capacity increase was granted, and it is expected that 100,000 fans could fill the London venue on 21 September.