Daniel Dubois is a more technical fighter than Anthony Joshua according to one man who has faced both men.

AJ and DDD are set for a clash of the titans at Wembley later this week, with Dubois hoping to defend his IBF heavyweight title against Joshua – who is in the midst of making another run towards divisional glory. 27-year-old Dubois captured the vacant strap back in June after securing an eighth-round TKO over Filip Hrgovic, while Joshua has been beltless since he lost his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021.

While Usyk is the latest man to become undisputed in the world of heavyweight boxing, after beating Tyson Fury in May this year, the Ukrainian was forced to relinquish his IBF strap for failing to take up a fight with the federation’s mandatory challenger in Dubois, instead opting for a rematch with the ‘Gypsy King’ which is set for December 21.

And all eyes will be on the winner of AJ vs Dubois come September 21, as he could become the next man to challenge for undisputed greatness. Now, a former opponent of both fighters has predicted that Dubois has a significant edge on Joshua when the pair meet this weekend.

Welshman Dorian Darch met with Joshua in February 2014 at Cardiff’s Motorpoint Arena, long before AJ made a name for himself as a proven heavyweight. Joshua was riding a 3-0 record when the two faced off, adding a fourth TKO to his record in the second round of the bout courtesy of a stiff right hand paired with a couple of left hooks.

Dubois also faced Darch three years later at the Copper Box Arena in the capital, also securing a second-round TKO to bolster his at the time 5-0 record further after dropping the now 40-year-old three times in quick succession. Comparing the two fighters, Darch has noted that Dubois has the advantage in terms of technicality when the two hard-hitters go to war this weekend.

In a candid interview, he explained: “Dubois is just not as big or hits as hard as Joshua, in my opinion, but he was a better technical boxer.” However, the fiery fighter – who has a respective 12-12-1 record of his own – admitted that Joshua could cause his opponent trouble with his knockout power.

He added: “Standing next to Anthony Joshua – he’s massive – but Dubois is not that much bigger than me. Dubois did hit hard, don’t get me wrong, but he didn’t have concussive power, in my opinion. AJ is more one-shot, lights out power; Dubois had me down three times, I had a cauliflower a*** by the end of it, but none of the punches would have made me stay down.”

Opening up further while giving his own prediction for the fight, Darch said that Dubois – although incredibly technical – will have to keep his hands up, noting how he took too many unanswered blows from Hrgovic in his most recent fight. He added: “Dubois, even though he’s got tremendously better since he lost to Joyce, he just got caught far too much against [Filip] Hrgovic, and you can’t get caught like that against AJ, it’ll just be lights out. So, AJ knockout, in my opinion, I don’t think it’s going to points.”