LONDON – Daniel Dubois didn’t have to dethrone anyone to become a world heavyweight champion. So he has something to prove when he makes his first title defense before one of the biggest crowds in British boxing history.

If he successfully defends his IBF belt on Saturday by beating fellow Briton Anthony Joshua in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, Dubois might just transform himself into boxing’s next big thing.

“I’m getting used to the idea that I’m the world champion but I think I need to legitimize it by beating AJ,” Dubois told The Associated Press in an interview. “That’s the way I do it and cement my name, cement my legacy in the sport of boxing.”

The 27-year-old Dubois was awarded the belt in late June after then-undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine relinquished it.

He knows that most boxing fans — the British ones in particular — want to see Joshua become a three-time champion to set up a long-anticipated showdown with Tyson Fury.

But the hard-punching Dubois — a south London native who has been boxing since the age of 7 — has plans of his own.

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He suspects most of the crowd — and perhaps many of those watching on DAZN’s streaming service — will be on AJ’s side.

“They probably will be overlooking me,” he said. “It’s up to me to prove them wrong.”

AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports