Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois’ showdown at Wembley in September will have the IBF heavyweight title on the line after Oleksandr Usyk vacated.

Oleksandr Usyk has confirmed he is vacating his IBF heavyweight world title as a “present” for Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois, who are set to face off at Wembley Stadium in September. Usyk became the undisputed heavyweight king with a stunning victory over Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia last month.

Usyk took to social media to share a video announcing the move. “Anthony, Daniel, listen,” the Ukranian said. “I know the IBF title is important to you. It is my present to you on September 21.”

Dubois is the interim IBF champion after his victory over Filip Hrgovic in Saudi Arabia on June 1, with Joshua at No. 3 in the rankings. The top two spots in the rankings are vacant after Hrgovic and Otto Wallin’s recent defeats, meaning two-time unified heavyweight champ Joshua is next in line.

A fight between fellow Britons Joshua and Dubois at the national stadium on September 21 is widely expected to be announced this week, with the event forming part of Riyadh Season – the series of big-time boxing shows bankrolled by Saudi Arabia and its General Entertainment Authority chief Turki Al-Alshaikh

Joshua is riding a four-fight winning streak after his successive points defeats to Usyk in 2021 and 2022, following a points victory over Jermaine Franklin with impressive stoppage wins over Robert Helenius, Wallin and MMA superstar Francis Ngannou.

Dubois, too, came up short against Usyk in his first shot at a world title, suffering a ninth-round stoppage defeat last year. But he has responded in style with back-to-back wins inside the distance in Saudi against Jarrell Miller and Hrgovic, making a showdown with former sparing partner Joshua a tantalizing prospect, particularly with a world title on the line.

It appeared Usyk would not have to vacate the IBF title after No. 1 contender Hrgovic’s defeat to Dubois, but he has still given up the belt with his sole focus on his rematch with Fury on Dec. 21, avoiding the prospect of having to face Dubous as a mandatory challenger in the meantime.

Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn hinted at the weekend that the fight could be announced on Wednesday, with a deal between the fighters “pretty close”. The card is expected to be packed with high-level fights with the Saudis bankrolling the show, with an all-British light-heavyweight showdown between Joshua Buatsi and Willy Hutchinson expected to form part of the show.

The fighting talk between Joshua and Dubois has already begun, with the latter telling The Sun: “It’s a dream [to fight Joshua at Wembley]. Especially after having to come back from defeats and challenging for a world title. I now have a chance to win the damn thing outright and that’s what I want. I will demolish AJ, from here I can only get even better.”