If Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois square off on June 1st, he’ll probably be keeping a careful watch on them.
The Croatian IBF mandatory challenger is reportedly willing to jeopardize his status in order to face the youthful British fighter in Saudi Arabia this summer.
Joshua, a two-time heavyweight world champion in the WBA, IBF, and WBO, could have the opportunity to win back his previous IBF title.Regards: AFP
According to rumors, this fight will take place on a massive bill that also features the Queensberry-Matchroom 5 vs. 5 event, Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev, and Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang.
Additionally, AJ will be very interested in it since he could have to fight the winner for the vacant heavyweight world championship.
Naturally, on May 18, when Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk square off to become the undisputed champion, all four titles will be on the line.
After that, though, the IBF is expected to finally order their long-overdue obligatory bout.
Hrgovic defeated Zhilei Zhang in 2022 to secure a spot as their mandatory challenger, and he has been eagerly awaiting his opportunity ever since.
But because Fury and Usyk agreed to a two-way guaranteed rematch, it is anticipated that the victor will give up the IBF title and only bring the WBA, WBC, and WBO titles into the rematch.
As a result, the IBF will have to decide whether to match Hrgovic against the next best opponent for their vacant heavyweight world championship.
Right now, this is Joshua.
Hrgovic is the current IBF mandatory challenger.
Dubois will be looking to take his spot.
Dubois has the chance to crash the party though.
If he beats Hrgovic on June 1, then the IBF would likely order AJ vs Dubois for their vacant heavyweight world title instead.
Time will tell how the situation plays out.