By Jennifer Amarachi
Lawrence Okolie, the WBC Bridgerweight World Champion, believes Anthony Joshua’s performance will have a significant impact on the outcome of his IBF heavyweight title fight against Daniel Dubois next month.
According to the Nigerian-born British pugilist who has sparred with both fighters, Joshua’s consistency would be critical to winning the battle.
Joshua will face Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title on September 21 at Wembley Stadium, in a potentially explosive matchup caused by Oleksandr Usyk renouncing the title following his triumphs over Joshua and Dubois due to a mandated rematch with Tyson Fury.
Dubois, who recently won the title by defeating Filip Hrgovic, will defend it against Joshua in a high-stakes matchup.
Although Okolie acknowledged the skill of both boxers, he emphasized in his judgment that Joshua’s consistency might be the decisive element.
“Dan, I think highly of him. Since we’ve trained together, I can say with certainty that you shouldn’t undervalue him. He possesses great strength, perseverance, and resolve. “But if Joshua can stay consistent and use his long, straight punches to their advantage, he should win,” Okolie stated.
Okolie emphasized two pivotal incidents in Dubois’ career: his thrilling victory over Kevin Lerena and his stoppage loss to Joe Joyce. Dubois had an eye socket injury that caused him to take a knee in the Joyce fight, but he eventually prevailed after being knocked down three times in the first round against Lerena.
“With Dan, we’ve witnessed it occur a few times. There were times during the fights with Joe Joyce and Kevin Lerena when you could see a gap in his defenses. Even with all of his might and strength, I believe you can succeed if you continue to be reliable. And among all the heavyweights, AJ is renowned for his dependability. I’m leaning toward him because of it,” Okolie continued.
Due to strong demand for tickets, Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority is looking to expand Wembley Stadium’s capacity in anticipation of the impending bout, which is predicted to attract enormous attention.
The bout, which is a part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh season, attempts to break the previous record of 94,000 established during the last boxing event at Wembley.
