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The Independent
Anthony Joshua addresses Daniel Dubois sparring rumour: ‘He apparently took my lights out’
By Alex Pattle,
18 hours ago
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.
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.
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.
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