Saturday 21st September -
Anthony Joshua v Daniel Dubois
Well would of preferred Joshua and Fury if i'm being honest but i'll settle for this good ol' domestic dust up , Joshua (31 Fights - 28 Wins (25 KOs) comes into this on a four win streak having put away Jermaine Franklin , Robert Helenius , Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou .. the latter three all by way of stoppage and the Ngannou bout by a devastating KO in the second round. And good as all those wins are they're still not what i would consider top notch opposition , to be fair after his back to back losses to Oleksander Uysk i see these fights as confidence builders and whilst hes acquitted himself well it hasnt really proven anything that we didnt already know about him to be honest. The Ngannou bout was hyped up out of all proportion really because he dropped Fury and went the distance , and he did to a novice what a seasoned ex world champion should do , he stopped him. I think that this one will be his biggest test since the Uysk fights , as Dubois (23 Fights - 21 Wins (20 KOs) - 2 Losses) comes into this on a roll after stopping the well touted Filip Hgrovic in the eighth round , considering how much of an underdog he was for that fight that was a good solid performance as alot of people expected him to lose (thankfully i werent one of them) and in his last couple of fights i think (and hope) that hes now dispelled the 'quitter' tag that he got lumbered with after the Joe Joyce loss , i mean lets face it he had a broken left orbital bone and nerve damage and in all honesty done the right thing or he may well not be boxing today. In all fairness he kinda proved himself on that score in the subsequent Lerena bout when he went down three times but got back up and stopped him in the third round. In his last fight , against Hgrovic , he ate alot of punches and its noticable that his defence is wanting in certain aspects and against someone who can hit as hard as Joshua im hoping that hes ironed those wrinkles out and tightens up his defence , as he wont be able to eat the amount of punches from Joshua as he did Hgrovic imho. Both can bang , and im expecting / hoping for some fireworks here especially as there could be a bit of needle in this one , for me Joshua has the edge as he has more experience , especially in Championship fights , and he has better skills/technique but hes gonna have to be aware all the time as if Dubois connects properly then it could be lights out time. In all honesty in these kind of fights it only takes that one punch , if one of em switches off for a moment it could be good night , but im sure that they'll both be wired for this and i can see a decent fight in prospect. For me i think Joshua wins , as ive said i think he has the better skillset especially defensively . I would like to see Dubois win in all honesty , theres not alot to dislike about him really , but hes young and even if he loses he can regroup and come back. But ultimately i see Joshua winning , i think Dubois is gonna get caught too often and that he'll take one right hand too many , i see AJ stopping him somwhere between the 6th and 10th rounds although like i say im not discounting Dubois' chances as he has a punchers chance its just that from what ive seen so far of him he takes too many big shots and heart will only take you so far in a fight.
Anthony Joshua To Win (By Stoppage .. Between Rounds 6-10)
Joshua Buatsi v Willy Hutchinson
Good fight this one with the winner looking to have a pop at a world light heavyweight title .. Buatsi (18 Fights - 18 Wins (13 KOs)) comes into this after his unanimous decision win over fellow Brit Dan Azeez back in February of this year .. that was a solid win on his resume but to my eye , for whatever reason , Azeez looked lacking and didnt look his usual self , thats not taking anything away from Buatsi who did what he needed to do. Hutchinson (19 Fights - 18 Wins (13 Wins) - 1 Loss) arrives on the back of a career best win when he outpointed (UD) fellow British fighter Craig Richards in Saudi back in June and that the sharpest and best i have seen Hutchinson so Buatsi is gonna have to be at the top of his game if hes to win this i think. This is an interesting match up , since his loss to Lennox Clarke back in 2021 and subsequent rise to the 175 ranks hes looked alot better and looks more comfortable than he did , hand whilst his win against Craig Richards was his best yet imho , the fact that Richards looked a little jaded and looked as though he was hesitant to pull the trigger at times takes the edge of it a little but it was still a great win nevertheless , but he isnt going to get the chances he had in that fight against someone like Buatsi who has a solid amateur pedigree and has took that into the pro ranks , Hutchinson is the younger of the two and that will be in his favour i think , but skill and ring IQ is gonna come into this and Buatsi has both in abundance , he reads his opponents well and takes advantage of any weaknesses he spots. The one thing i have noticed is that he seems to take 'time out' during fights sometimes , which you cant do against someone whose explosive as Hutchinson. Hutchinson has a unique style of fighting , almost laid back in a way , which kinda reminds me of Billy Joe Saunders at times , and as i say its gonna be an interesting bout to watch i reckon. I do sometimes question Buatsis motivation as he doesnt seem to fight very often and i think he needs to if hes gonna get that title shot , however saying that this fight is for the interim title so he'll know that this is a must win , and as much as i like Hutchinson , his style and attitude , i think Buatsi is gonna win , its gonna be difficult at times and though i wouldnt rule out a Hutchinson victory i think Buatsi is gonna prove to good and skillful for the Scotsman.
Joshua Buatsi To Win
Tyler Denny v Hamzah Sheeraz
Another great fight in prospect on the stacked Anthony Joshua / Daniel Dubois undercard , Tyler Denny (24 Fights - 19 Wins (1 KO) - 2 Losses - 3 Draws) comes into this on the back of a surprise win over Felix Cash , the fight was stopped in the fifth round after a clash of heads and Denny suffering a badly cut lip and damage to his eye , so they went to the cards and Denny came out on top , that was by far his biggest win to date imho but i honestly think hes gonna have his work cut out to beat Sheeraz (20 Fights - 20 Wins (16 KOs)) who i think is a potential world champion in the making. He too had his biggest win last time when he stopped the American Austin Willliams in the eleventh round by way of TKO. Alot of people thought Sheeraz would fall short in that one and that 'Ammo' would emerge the victor but Sheeraz acquitted himself well and eventually stopped him. Although i think this one is a good fight , i think Sheeraz is gonna prove too much and to good for Denny , he has a big height and reach advantage which he is adept at using to his own advantage , and i think getting to him will prove to be problematic for Denny as he uses his jab well and has the power to stop his opponents. Denny is game theres no doubt and hes decent enough but i honestly cant see past a Sheeraz win here , probably by a mid to late round stoppage.
Hamzah Sheeraz To Win .. By Stoppage (Rounds 6-12)
Anthony Cacace v Josh Warrington
And another decent bout in prospect on the undercard of the Joshua and Dubois fight .. Current IBO / IBF Superfeatherweight title holder Anthony Cacace (23 Fights - 22 Wins (8 KOs) - 1 Loss) arrives on the back of a resounding victory over Welshman Joe Cordina , where he stopped him in the eighth round handing him his first ever loss. That was a particularly solid display from The Apache and im expecting another powerful display here in defence of his titles against two time Featherweight champion , Leeds warrior Josh Warrington (35 Fights - 31 Wins (8 KOs) - 3 Losses - 1 Draw) , gotta be honest and say that Warrington has looked as though hes on the slide in his last few fights , and its surprised me that hes got a shot at a world title after hes only won one of his last five fights , last time he was stopped by Leigh Wood in the seventh round in a cracking fight , and before that he was beaten by the Mexican Luis Alberto Lopez by majority decision. He won the fight before this by TKO stopping Spaniard Kiko Martinez , lost against Mauricio Lara and the rematch was halted in the second round after Lara suffered a nasty looking cut from a clash of heads. Interesting that Warrington is moving up from 126 to 130 , but i still fail to see how he warrants a title shot though it could be because you're guaranteed sales if hes on the cards as he does leave it all in the ring. Im not sure the rise in weight will help Warrington tbh , it may do to a certain extent but he has been hurt before by smaller fighters ie Lara , Wood .. and Cacace can punch hard and im sure that hes gonna hurt Warrington with his stinging shots , although Warrington will definatley have his moments as he likes to pressure his opponents but i think Cacace is on a roll and will have too much in the locker for the Leeds fighter. He throws some mean punches and his looping uppercuts makes his opponent guess where its gonna land as its not immediatley obvious , i see Warrington starting well , maybe opening 2 or 3 rounds , but i think Cacace will impose his self as the fight goes on and eventually i see him stopping him , i think he'll just prove to strong for Warrington at the end of the day.
Anthony Cacace To Win .. By Stoppage
Mark Chamberlain v Josh Padley
Looking forward to seeing Mark Chamberlain (16 Fights - 16 Wins (12 KOs)) in action again , the unbeaten Portsmouth native takes on the unbeaten Yorkshireman Josh Padley (14 Fights - 14 Wins (4 KOs)) and its gonna be interesting to see how Padley tries to deal with Chamberlains aggressiveness and power. Chamberlain comes into this on the back of a first round demolition of Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab for the WBC Lightweight Silver title , that was his fifth stoppage on the bounce and he'll be coming into this looking for a sixth and to make a statement to the division imho .. Though not known as a puncher Padley comes into the fight with three stoppages in his last three fights , but i think hes gonna find Chamberlain a different proposition altogether compared to who hes been facing. Padleys a decent boxer and if he can box smart then i think he can do well but i honestly think Chamberlain is gonna be too much for him and i can see a stoppage in this one.
Mark Chamberlain To Win .. By Stoppage
Josh Kelly v Ishmael Davis
Well id already done a write up for Josh Kelly v Liam Smith but due to Smith pulling out of the fight because of a virus i thought this one would go down the pan , but Ishmael Davis has stepped up at very short notice so Kelly does have a dance partner after all and if im being honest this could be a much better fight than the one that was originally planned. Kelly (17 Fights - 15 Wins (8 KOs) - 1 Loss - 1 Draw) comes into this after a third round knockout of Placido Ramirez back in December of last year , whilst Davis (13 Fights - 13 Wins (6 KOs)) last fought in March of this year when he beat Troy Williamson by unanimous decision. Fair play to him for coming in at such short notice , he was in training anyway as he was set to face Uisma Lima from Portugal so he should hopefully be fit , ready and sharp enough (but he did have six weeks yo go at camp as his fight was in October) but , as with Kelly , the plans he had in place for his opponent now have to be changed and changed fast. As i said at the beginning this could well turn out to be a better fight than the original , Davis hasnt faced anyone of Kellys calibre yet , nearest would probably be Troy Williamson who Kelly also beat by UD back in 2022. I see this being a tight one , Davis is , as of now , probably a more dangerous opponent than Smith would of been imho , hes a switch hitter and is very good coming forward and i think thats what hes gonna do , come forward and stop the momentum of Kelly , stop him getting into a rhythm .. I originally went for a Kelly win (over Smith) but im 50/50 with this one , i think Kellys good enough to win but i have a feeling that an upset could be on the cards , and i think Davis is gonna emerge victorious.
Ishmael Davis To Win