Ahead of the expected official announcement on the main fight at Wembley Stadium between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, boxing fans have been speculating about the undercard, given the history of spectacular spectacles produced by Turki Al-Alshikh.
By defeating Filip Hrgovic earlier this month, Dubois defied the odds to take the interim IBF title and lined himself up for a potential rematch with his countryman for the vacant IBF championship.
For the first time since 2018, Joshua will be fighting at the national stadium, and this battle will provide him the chance to become the fifth heavyweight champion in boxing history.
But before that intriguing bout, a tonne of exciting British talent should be on show. These include the eagerly awaited Lonsdale Belt rematch between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke and a middleweight contender bout between Chris Eubank Jr. and Hamzah Sheeraz.
However, Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn was quick to dispel any rumours that undisputed super-bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue would be appearing for what would be his second visit in the United Kingdom in an interview with iFL TV.
First off, since it’s a Riyadh Season show, I’ll let His Excellency make all of the fight announcements. While some of the fights [Inoue, Wardley-Clarke II, and Eubank-Sheeraz] have been discussed, others are still in the works. Although it is not planned for Inoue to fight at Wembley, I believe he will not object if I mention that he will most likely be seen at an event during Riyadh Season.
Oscar De La Hoya carries on the Canelo Alvarez feud with a new, savage message: “The other battles will be revealed at the June 26 press conference.” We also need to finalise AJ’s bout. The card will be incredible, unlike anything you have ever seen.
“I understand that a lot of people are discussing Daniel Dubois. Of course, there are a lot of other issues to consider, but it is our goal to have AJ headline that card at Wembley Stadium.
“It would be tremendous if we could win it for the IBF world title and if it could happen against Dubois in an all-British fight.”
As Hearn hinted at, Inoue is anticipated to make an appearance on and probably be the featured fighter on another Turki Al-Alshikh card soon. He has also been connected to a title defence against TJ Doheny following Australia’s Sam Goodman and his team’s decision to need more time to train before facing “The Monster.”
Regarding the Wembley bill, the other fight being promoted is a WBO interim title fight between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson in the light-heavyweight class. Anthony Yarde was the reason behind the sanctioning body’s decision to order the fight, and as a result, he no longer has a spot in the planned fight.
