Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois clash in commercial shoot

In a pre-amble to the upcoming September 21 IBF title bout between former unified champion Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, things very nearly boiled over.

Given that this is a very early stage of the proceedings, only one day after the official announcement of the fight, and particularly that Oleksandr Usyk will vacate the IBF belt to make this a title fight, this has heated up quickly.

Flanked by their respective promoters, Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren, the two fighters were speaking with DAZN when Anthony Joshua said, “Aside from belts and aside from it being him, I’m just ready to fight.”

Daniel Dubois then responded with, “Let’s go.” Frank Warren then piped in, “Let’s wait until the 21st!” So far, so good. All normal in the selling of a fight. But it did not end there. Dubois continued, “If he wants to swing, let’s go now.”

In a break from a persona long groomed by Anthony Joshua, the former champ looked visibly irritated as he snapped back, “Shut up, relax.” For all those years as champion, AJ manicured a public image of being a calm guy, impossible to ruffle, despite many boxing insiders reminding us from time to time that he does have a nasty side to him. Well, that side was given free rein today.

Dubois repeated, “If you want to go now, let’s go.” He said it twice when AJ said, “I’ll hit you with a chair across your face. Don’t disrespect me.”

Dubois then ramped it up with, “You can’t intimidate me. Who do you think you are?” At this point both fighters rose from their seats and security had to step in to separate them as Joshua warned, “Daniel, don’t disrespect me. I don’t take disrespect lightly.”

Even before the fighters enter training camps, this is heating up as something of a grudge match. The old AJ wouldn’t have been ruffled by Dubois. But after both men lost to Usyk, the feeling that they are fighting for table scraps must weigh heavily on a proud former champion. Let’s see how the camps progress.