Anthony Joshua goes rogue and threatens to 'smash Daniel Dubois with a chair' at heated fight announcement
Anthony Joshua will face Daniel Dubois on September 21 for the IBF crown
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Eddie Hearn has revealed Anthony Joshua threatened to 'smash a chair in Daniel Dubois' face' during a tense exchange after their IBF heavyweight world title showdown was officially announced.
Joshua and Dubois went face-to-face for the first time press conference, but that came after an explosive meeting just minutes before at Wembley Arena.
The heavyweight fighters were said to have been sitting across from one another in a sitdown interview where Dubois is said to have raised a fist and said: "Right, let's do it here now."
Hearn explained how that infuriated Joshua, who wanted to accept Dubois' proposal.
Anthony Joshua will face Daniel Dubois on September 21 for the IBF crown
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"People have got into him to be more vocal," Hearn told The Stomping Ground.
"It was at the end of the face-to-face. Somebody said 'September 21 and not before'.
"Daniel said 'if you want to go now I'll go now as well'. AJ then replied 'Do you want me to smash this chair across your face?
"He said 'Don't ever disrespect me like that again'. They were all pulled apart, there wasn't any punches thrown.
"When you say that to AJ he is a bad man, it was a really good face-off."
The incident comes just hours after Oleksandr Usyk announced he was vacating his IBF heavyweight belt for both Dubois and Joshua to fight for it.
The Ukrainian boxing icon became the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world this century when he defeated Tyson Fury last month.
A rematch between the two was confirmed for December 21, however the IBF belt will not be on the line for that fight.
Anthony Joshua could become a three-time world champion
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In a video posted on social media, Usyk said: "Anthony and Daniel, listen, I know the IBF title is important to you.
"It's my present to you on September 21."
Dubois became the IBF 'interim' world champion after he defeated Filip Hrgovic earlier this month.
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With Usyk vacating the IBF belt, Dubois has now been upgraded to become the full champion for the first time in his career.
Joshua has the chance to become a three-time world heavyweight champion, which would see him join an elite list of boxers.
He will become just the sixth three-time heavyweight world champion in boxing history, following in the footsteps of Muhammad Ali, Michael Moorer, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko.