Daniel Dubois told his "head will fall off" during Anthony Joshua fight

Eddie Hearn expects Daniel Dubois to buckle under the pressure of fighting Anthony Joshua at Wembley.

Dubois will defend his heavyweight world title against the two-time ruler in front of up to 96,000 fans at the national stadium on Saturday night. Joshua will walk to the Wembley ring for the fourth time in his career and has also headlined at Tottenham's home ground and Cardiff's Principality Stadium.

Dubois did travel to the lion's den in Poland to face Oleksandr Usyk last year, but Joshua's promoter Hearn believes this weekend's occasion will be too much for him to handle. "I think his head will fall off," he said. "That could make him more dangerous but I'm not sure he'll be able to execute his specific gameplan, I think he could come out like a bull again – which is dangerous, and might be his best chance, but he might get bumped.

"He's got the benefit of the Usyk fight in Wroclaw, that was a stadium fight, but you could see the pressure of this week in the head to head. That has no relevance to his chances in the fight, I just think the only relevance it has is if he can compose himself and do what he's been working on. I think he'll come out, make mistakes, have a high output, but he won't be able to anticipate walking through that tunnel. When he makes that walk and stands up there, I know he won't be able to compose himself like AJ."

Joshua will take part in this first world title fight since he was beaten by Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch in 2021. And Hearn believes the 34-year-old is relishing being the challenger instead of the champion.

"He is definitely dialled in," he added. "He seems a bit more like: 'I must win this fight.' He's talked a little bit more about legacy, and then he kind of reins it in and goes back to: 'No, it's about performance.' But I think he realises: firstly how much he needs to win; and two, the value of being world champion again – and the legacy that comes with it.

"I like that he's the challenger actually. I mean, I don't agree with it in all honesty – I don't like [a fighter] being elevated as interim champion, unless it's one of my fighters! But even then, you never really get the credit.

"So for me, it's a vacant title; I know it's not, but if Dubois wins, he fully deserves to be world heavyweight champion. I just don't think, at the moment, he should be. But I quite like that for AJ, because the fact of the matter is: He'll be beating a world champion on Saturday. But I think it suits him actually, to come in as the challenger."