“Next man up,” said Anthony Joshua ahead of his Sept. 21 IBF heavyweight title challenge of Daniel Dubois at London’s Wembley Stadium. “We’re here now.”

Joshua and Dubois know each other well. There was an altercation between them during some earlier media engagements, and they’ve previously sparred.

Now Dubois is the champion, after Oleksandr Usyk relinquished the title ahead of his return with Tyson Fury in December, and Joshua admitted he had always felt Dubois could be in his future.

“I’ve been having Dubois on my mind for a while, and he’ll be on my mind the next 12 weeks until I get my hand raised,” said the challenger.

“Not the way they mention [Tyson] Fury or [Deontay] Wilder, not in that same breath, but I’m not silly, either. I know the game. We’re all in the wild and we’re a pack of lions and we’re hunting, so I’ve got to keep my eyes peeled and I can’t just focus on those two. I’ve always kept my eyes peeled on Daniel and the rest of the heavyweights, so whoever was going to be in that seat, I would have been ready to fight in September. It just happens to be him now.”

Joshua said his immediate goal was to have a good training camp ahead of Sept. 21, and would not be drawn on next steps, should he get through Dubois.

“I feel fresh, I don’t smoke, I don’t drink,” Joshua said. “My only vice is socializing, so I feel good. Thank God I didn’t get caught up in antics outside of boxing. I used boxing to keep me on the straight and narrow – I didn’t use it to take me off it. So young fighters coming up, look after your bodies, look after your minds. It will pay dividends in the long run. So for this fight here with Daniel, it don’t matter if I was 35 and he was 25 – it’s just a fight. I’m in peak condition. Age is just a number in this one.”

Dubois was presented with the belt ahead of today’s formal announcement of the bout, in part based off his interim title victory over Filip Hrgovic on June 1.

“I would have loved to win it on the night, but I’m blessed, I’m here, I’ll keep going,” said the champion.

“I’m learning more about myself, coming out of the darkness and into the light, being the man of the future and improving all round as a fighter and an athlete. I’m really up for this.”

Dubois said he had always wanted to face the best and he has rated Joshua highly.

“AJ’s been the king for a long time, and on the night, I need to become the king slayer. That’s the mission I have. I’m ready to let my fists do the talking. I’m going to go to camp and train like a beast. Bring it on.”

Their respective promoters talked up their fighters’ chances.

Frank Warren, who handles Dubois, feels it is Dubois’ time.

“I just feel it’s his moment. He’s 26 years of age, he can punch, he can box, he’s one of the best finishers out there,” said Warren. “The jab is the key to this fight.”

Eddie Hearn, who works with Joshua, countered: “It’s a real fight. We respect Daniel Dubois, he’s done incredibly well, and I’m so pleased he’s champion because when he beats Daniel Dubois, he will have beaten another champion to become a world champion.

“AJ never really asks who he’s fighting – he will fight anybody – and when Daniel got the victory [over Hrgovic], that was the opponent. It just comes with a red and gold belt.

“The rise or re-rise of Anthony Joshua has given us more confidence than ever.

“He’s going to win this fight and he’s going to beat the winner of Fury and Usyk.”

Warren responded: “Eddie’s very confident of Anthony, and I’m very confident of Daniel, and we’ll find out on the night. It will be exciting, there’s no doubt about it. This is going to be warfare in the ring.”