Boxing
Exclusive: Johnny Nelson Urges Dubois to ‘Make It Messy’ for Joshua in Pivotal Wembley Bout
Johnny Nelson breaks down the keys to victory for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois ahead of their all-British heavyweight title fight. Joshua's power and distance vs. Dubois' need for a brawl—who will come out on top at Wembley? Find out more
Image Credits: Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois have been presented with their respective routes to victory during this weekend’s all-British world heavyweight title fight by a former champion.
A near 100,000 crowd is expected to watch the pair fight inside Wembley Stadium on Saturday night, when Dubois will be making his first defence of the IBF belt he was awarded in June.
Joshua’s Power and Speed: The Key to Keeping Dubois at Bay
Aged 34 and the more experienced of the two having twice ruled the sport’s most glamorous division before losing to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua has been told by Johnny Nelson that he must keep Dubois at range in order to maximise his chances of winning.
By contrast, the former WBO cruiserweight king believes Dubois’ best hope of coming through what is a pivotal bout for both is by dragging Joshua into a “messy” brawl.
“AJ has got to keep it long,” Nelson told SportsBoom.com, providing an insight into how the Watford boxer and his trainer Ben Davison are likely to approach the contest.
“He’s got such fast hands, like someone casting a fishing rod into a lake and he’s powerful too. You saw, against Francis Ngannou and Charles Martin, when he first became world champion, how devastating that combination of power and speed can be.”
When AJ is at distance, that’s when he’s at his most dangerous. Definitely. Then he can flash in that right hand of his, which is undoubtedly his biggest and most effective weapon. That’s the one that tends to cause the damage
Johnny Nelson
Dubois Must Drag Joshua into a Brawl to Stand a Chance
“So, for me, AJ is going to try and keep Daniel off him and give himself some room to breathe and work in.”
By contrast, Nelson, who remains the longest reigning cruiserweight champion of all time despite retiring in 2005, insists Dubois and his camp should adopt the opposite approach. It is an intriguing theory, given the 27-year-old’s jab is one of the best in the sport.
But one, studying the evidence of Dubois’ recent triumphs over Jarrell Miller and Filip Hrgovic, Nelson insists makes perfect sense.
“Daniel has got to get in close and make it as messy as possible,” Nelson said, analysing the game plan Dubois and his coach Don Charles are expected to devise.
“Yes, he’s got an amazing jab but, unless you’re Ernie Shavers and you’re knocking people out with that, then there’s no point in relying simply on that if you don’t have the back-up.”
“Of all the current heavyweights, Daniel has got one of the best knockout percentages. But he gets hit too often and he can’t afford to get hit by one of those AJ right hands.”
“That’s why I think he’s got to look to get inside and not give AJ any room to work. AJ can box on the inside but that takes away one of his strengths. If he can do that, then Daniel can bring the uppercut into play, and he’s got one of the best knockout percentages out of all the heavyweights operating at the moment.”
I genuinely believe it’s going to be a case of who gets hit - properly - first,” Nelson continued. “The fascinating thing is, if you ask me, they’ll both be going about things in a different way to try and ensure they are the one who connects properly before the other.
Johnny Nelson
Experience vs. Pressure: Can Joshua’s Championship Knowledge Tip the Scales?
From London, Dubois (21-2) will enter the ring having won his last two outings since being beaten by Usyk. After outpointing Tyson Fury in their unified title bout, the Ukrainian was forced to surrender his IBF belt with Dubois subsequently being elevated to full champion.
Joshua (28-3), who won gold at the 2012 Olympics in London, has also lost to Usyk - in 2021 and 2022 - before resurrecting his career with wins over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Ngannou.
This will be Joshua’s 13th world title fight, while Dubois is preparing for his sixth regular or interim world title contest.
With many observers predicting Joshua’s knowledge of how to handle high-pressure situations could prove crucial, Nelson said: “The same questions that are getting thrown at Daniel now, AJ has already faced them. You have to experience good and bad to acquire knowledge and AJ has done that and always got better and improved.”
“Daniel has also come through adversity but, I think it’s fair to say, he’s getting asked those questions now that AJ has already dealt with.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.