Anthony Joshua‘s hopes of a rematch against Daniel Dubois could be on the ropes two days after he was knocked out at Wembley.
Anthony Joshua‘s hopes of a rematch against Daniel Dubois could be on the ropes two days after he was knocked out at Wembley.
AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn insisted there is a rematch clause and that his fighter was likely to activate it in the aftermath of his Saturday shellacking.
Dubois retained his IBF world heavyweight crown with a bullying performance in front of 96,000 fans as he floored Joshua four times, knocking him out in the fifth round.
Joshua has previously had double-headers against Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk, getting his own back against the former after a shock defeat in 2019.
However, Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren has flung a spanner in the works with a potentially game-changing claim about the fight contract.
Anthony Joshua has been handed a major blow in his hopes for a rematch with Daniel Dubois
Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren says his fighter does not have a guaranteed rematch clause
The 27-year-old knocked AJ out in the fifth round with his fourth knockdown on Saturday
Despite being unfancied by many, he retained his IBF world heavyweight title at Wembley
He told talkSPORT that Dubois does not have a guaranteed rematch clause in his contract, even though AJ apparently does.
In any case, he said that his camp would be open to discussing a second fight between the boxers.
Joshua is no quitter and has a dream of joining the gilded hall of three-time champions so is expected to seek a solution wherever it takes him.
As he said in the ring moments after his defeat: ‘I’m always saying to myself I’m a fighter for life… we keep rolling the dice.
‘I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that’s the game.’
And promoter Hearn told DAZN: ‘I’m sure he’ll exercise that rematch clause, I think that’s a given. He’ll need a rest and it’s a dangerous fight. This guy’s growing in confidence all the time.
‘He’ll believe he can hurt Dubois. He’ll believe he can beat him, but full credit to Daniel Dubois, he deserves all the credit tonight. It was a great performance from Daniel.’
Dubois shocked the world on Saturday evening. He went against tradition and emerged out into Wembley Stadium first despite being the reigning champion – but that was the least of the surprises in store.
Eddie Hearn has insisted that Joshua does have a rematch clause and wants to activate it
Joshua harbours ambitions of being a three-time world champion like Muhammad Ali and Lennox Lewis
He hurt Dubois a couple of times but for the most part took a pummelling in front of 96,000
In the end, trainer Ben Davison threw in the towel and rushed into the ring as it was waved off
After the fight, Dubois insisted that he still hasn’t ‘reached my potential’ in the boxing game
From the opening bell he showcased his immense power and scored a huge knockdown in the opening round.
A stunned AJ returned to his corner to seek the guidance of trainer Ben Davison and, in the second round, he did manage to hang on as ‘Dynamite’ Dubois pushed forward.
However, Joshua never looked as though he’d fully recovered from the early blow and was on the canvas once again in the third round, seconds before the bell rang.
It didn’t take long for ‘AJ’ to be sent down to the canvas again as, in the fourth round, Dubois connected with another huge hook that had Joshua’s corner concerned.
Somehow, the 34-year-old managed to get to his feet once more and marched forward, despite the heavy blows he’d taken in the opening rounds.
However, it was all in the fifth after Joshua caught Dubois and charged forward before the IBF heavyweight champion delivered a brilliant counter right-hook that sent his rival to the canvas.
Joshua attempted to get back to his feet for the fourth time in the fight but stumbled over, almost landing on his head, and gave the referee a simple decision to call off the bout.
