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As Anthony Joshua prepares to step into the ring once more at Wembley Stadium to face Daniel Dubois later this month, his impressive record in his hometown looms large over the bout.
Having bounced back from consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua has regained momentum, securing four consecutive wins. Now, with potentially one last shot at heavyweight glory, Joshua faces a determined opponent in Dubois.
While the 26-year-old’s physicality and aggressive, crowd-pleasing style make him a clear threat, ‘AJ’ has experience, especially at Wembley. He must turn up on the night and prove why he is the favourite in the Joshua v Dubois odds ahead of their clash on 21 September.
Wembley has been a fortress for Joshua throughout his career, and in this article, we recap some of his most iconic moments and toughest opponents fighting in front of the crowd in the capital.
Matt Legg
One of Joshua’s early Wembley bouts came against Matt Legg in May 2014, on the undercard of Carl Froch vs. George Groves II.
Though AJ was still in the early stages of his professional career, this fight provided a glimpse of the potential that would later define his legacy. He was raw, powerful, and eager to make a
The first-round knockout showcased the punching power we saw from him rising up the ranks as an amateur, but to replicate the same dominance in front of a crowd proved to be a watershed moment in British boxing.
Wladimir Klitschko
Joshua’s victory over Wladimir Klitschko is arguably the defining moment of his career. In what many consider one of the greatest heavyweight bouts of all time, Joshua displayed incredible resilience, power, and determination to overcome the legendary Ukrainian.
The 2017 fight, which drew a crowd of 90,000 at Wembley, saw Joshua knock Klitschko down in the fifth round, only to be floored himself in the sixth – then knocking the big man out in the 11th to stun the boxing betting odds.
It was a win that announced AJ as one of the best boxers in the world at the time, unifying the WBA Super Heavyweight and IBF titles, and becoming a household name.
Kubrat Pulev
Even behind closed doors, and with a limited number of fans inside Wembley, Joshua still showed he could do the business in the capital when he knocked out Kubrat Pulev in 2020.
Despite the unusual circumstances, Joshua showcased his superior speed, power, and technique, stopping the bout in the ninth for his first win in the UK since his matchup with Alexander Povetkin in 2018.
Alexander Povetkin
Joshua showed his resilience against Povetkin, whose fast start against the Brit looked for the early rounds as it would stun Wembley, with the 39-year-old hitting hard, only to tire after a barrage of attacks from AJ.
In all honesty, had the Russian been a few years younger he would have had the beating of Joshua on the night, but it is credit to Eddie Hearn’s man that he stayed in the fight and picked up some valuable experience with such a close call – winning with a seventh round TKO.
“Povetkin is a very tough challenger, he proved that with good left hooks and counter punches,” Joshua said. “It could have been seven, maybe nine, maybe 12 rounds to get him out of there, but the ultimate aim was to be victorious, and I got my knockout streak back.”