Dillian Whyte sees Saturday’s fight between Anthony Joshua and IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois as a “50-50” fight for their title at Wembley Stadium in London.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Former WBC interim champion Whyte disagrees with the crowd favorite Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) because he is as likely to lose to Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) as he is to win. .
Whyte gives Joshua, 34, a knockout in the fourth round, but if he doesn’t land a knockout then, he’ll go to Dubois. He feels like Joshua doesn’t handle pressure well in the second half of his fights, and that’s what Dubois will do.
The 96,000 fans expected to be at Wembley Stadium will be cheering Joshua on, but that may not matter. Whyte says Dubois follows instructions well, and will do it if told to do something in his corner.
The crowd can’t stop Dubois from doing the job, which Whyte feels makes him dangerous. Dubois won’t second-guess himself when things get tough. He will continue to follow the work until the end. His ability to follow orders gives him the rank of a soldier.
“People say he is a low person, but I don’t see that he is a low person. I think it’s an equal fight,” said Dillian Whyte speaking to Sport Boxing about Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois on Saturday. “It’s one of those fights where it’s 50-50.”
The Smokers are riding on what Joshua has done in recent fights, believing he will be able to do the same to Dubois. However, Joshua’s last four fights have been middle-of-the-road fights to rebuild his depleted confidence.
“Early on, it’s dangerous for Dubois, but if he goes three or four rounds, I think it becomes more dangerous for AJ, as we saw in the Andy Ruiz fight. He knocked him down and fell backwards. “AJ doesn’t handle pressure well late in fights,” Whyte said.
Joshua will be dangerous early, but so will Dubois. If Joshua can’t connect with one of his big right hands to land a knockout, as we saw against Francis Ngannous, things could turn sour for him in the second round.
“If you go out in front of 95,000 people and 60,000 people, 70,000 people are rooting for AJ. [it can be intimidating]. AJ is designed for this class and this officer. He has participated in great battles and great crowds. Daniel hasn’t. So the benefit will depend on AJ a little bit,” said Whyte.
In Dubois’ recent fights against Filip Hrgovic, Jarrell Miller, and Oleksandr Usyk, the crowd’s cheers for those fighters encouraged Daniel, making him fight harder. He feeds off the fans, and it doesn’t matter if they cheer for his opponents. It works for him, and that’s another bad thing for Joshua.
“One thing that Daniel does well is that I’ve noticed when you say to him, ‘We’re going to do this. This is what happens. Then he can be very dangerous,” Whyte said of Dubois.
Source link
