Liam Smith Withdraws from Joshua vs Dubois Card Due to Illness: Josh Kelly Faces New Opponent

On September 21, Anthony Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) will meet for the IBF world heavyweight title in the main event of a Riyadh Season card at Wembley Stadium. Liam Gallagher will be performing alongside a stacked undercard. Turki Alalshikh has now confirmed that Liam Smith is ill and will not be able to face Josh Kelly (15-1-1, 8 KOs) as planned. A replacement fighter has been named to face Kelly with Ishmael Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) stepping up to fill the void. The entire card will be available on DAZN PPV, TNT Sports PPV, PPV.com and Sky Sports Box Office.

Ishmael Davis vs. Josh Kelly Confirmed for Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois Undercard

Turki Alalshikh Confirms Change for September 21 Card

Former super welterweight world champion Smith has been ruled out of the Joshua vs Dubois card on September 21. The Liverpool fighter was set to face Kelly, but an illness had severely disrupted his preparations so he had to withdraw. His Excellency has confirmed the unbeaten Leeds Fighter Davis will take his place. A press release said:

“The unbeaten Ishmael Davis [13-0, 6 KOs] has been confirmed to take on Josh Kelly as part of the Riyadh Season Wembley Card this Saturday, September 21, in London,” said the statement.

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“The Leeds-born fighter most recently defeated Troy Williamson unanimously in a twelve-round super-welterweight contest. He now gets the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Kelly at Wembley Stadium this weekend following the withdrawal of Liam Smith due to a virus.”

“The fight is part of a stacked card at England’s national stadium on Saturday, headlined by Daniel Dubois’ first defense of his IBF heavyweight title. Dubois goes up against two-time former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua in front of what is expected to be a record crowd for a UK boxing event.”

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“The Riyadh Season Card showpiece in London features six all-British fights and a special performance from legendary Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher.”

Joshua vs. Dubois Full Fight Card

• Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois – for IBF heavyweight title
• Josh Kelly vs Ishmael Davis
• Joshua Buatsi vs Willy Hutchinson – for interim WBO light-heavyweight title
• Anthony Cacace vs Josh Warrington – for IBF and IBO super-featherweight title
• Tyler Denny vs Hamzah Sheeraz 
• Mark Chamberlain vs Josh Padley