Daniel Dubois 'not ready' as Anthony Joshua predicted to have advantage

Daniel Dubois is "not ready" to face Anthony Joshua in front of a sell-out crowd at Wembley according to a former Olympic gold medallist. John Ryder admitted his concerns for 'Dynamite' taking on Joshua in the blockbuster event.

The talking stops on Saturday night when the two Brits go toe-to-toe for the IBF heavyweight title. While Dubois has had a taste of the big time, taking on Oleksandr Usyk in a fight billed as the Ukrainian's home night in Poland back in August last year, the 27-year-old wouldn't have prepared for anything like this before.

Speaking to SportsBoom, Ryder expressed his concern that the Wembley stage could be too big for Dubois given the experience Joshua has, especially on his career-defining night against Wladimir Klitschko.

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"I don't think Daniel quite realizes what it's going to be like walking out there," Ryder warned. "It's going to be completely new for him - a whole new ball game if you want to call it that - nothing like he's come across before. He'll think he's grasped what it's going to be like. But he still probably doesn't understand the glare of the spotlight and the sheer intensity of what's going to happen."

The scene appears to be set for AJ, who couldn't have wished for a better comeback from his two defeats against Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua claimed three victories in nine months against Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius and Otto Wallin before setting himself up for a title fight by devastatingly knocking out Francis Ngannou in March.

Joshua looks rejuvenated and more refined, arguably, back to his best. But it's not only his new model in the ring too which has surprised Ryder, but also his character outside. The former Olympic champion pointed to a fiery moment in the first press conference when Joshua and Dubois had to be separated.

"Daniel is usually very relaxed but produced a bit of a surprise when he offered Anthony outside at the first press call a while ago," he added.

"He probably expected AJ to ignore it but instead he offered him outside. That showed a different side to Anthony, one not many people might have seen before. He seems in a good place and a happy fighter is a dangerous fighter."

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Ryder himself has triumphed on grand nights, claiming the WBO interim super-middleweight title against fellow Brit Zach Parker at the O2 Arena. He's also entered the lion's den, just as Dubois did against Usyk - taking on Canelo Alvarez in Mexico - where he lost out on the undisputed super middleweight titles.

Meanwhile, the consensus among former boxing pros is leaning the way of an AJ victory with Tony Bellew also favouring the experienced head. "I think he (AJ) knocks him out. I just think everything that Daniel does, AJ does a little bit better," Bellew said.