Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is pushing for an immediate fight with Tyson Fury over fears that another Daniel Dubois KO will end any hopes of the clash.
Hearn stated his belief that Joshua and Fury should have two fights in 2025, almost certainly to maximize profits and avoid another Dubois defeat.
Should Joshua do what he always does and invoke a rematch clause after a loss, Hearn knows there’s a very good chance that Dubois will repeat the crushing knockout he scored on September 21.
If that happens, any opportunity Fury and Joshua had at sharing the ring would be gone as both would have lost their last two bouts, and interest would be at an all-time low.
Discussing the situation, Hearn told TNT Sports, “When you look back at his defeats, we’ve always jumped straight back in. When he lost to Andy Ruiz, everyone said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t fight Ruiz straight away. Come back, have a ten-rounder.’ AJ went, ‘Absolutely no chance – I should’ve beaten Ruiz. I can beat Ruiz; let me rematch him.’ Then he goes out and wins every round [against a Ruiz who barely trained and was well overweight].
“[Oleksandr] Usyk – a lot of people said we shouldn’t have fought him in the first place. AJ got well beaten there. [I thought] I know it’s a shot at the world heavyweight title again, but… no. [Joshua said] ‘I’m rematching Usyk.’ He performed much better but didn’t win.
“Now, we feel that we should be beating Daniel Dubois, and we can beat Daniel Dubois. But are you ready to go straight back in with him?
“We have that option under contract. I know that His Excellency wants an immediate rematch. It’s probably February time. Is that too early? Is there a spot later? We know that Riyadh Season finishes at the end of February/early March.
“Do we wait for Tyson Fury? If Tyson Fury loses [to Usyk in December], I think AJ and Fury should have two fights and sail off into the sunset,” he added.
Joshua would begin either fight as a massive underdog, having been beaten from pillar to post by Dubois. Hurt in the first round, Joshua never recovered, had zero idea how to reverse the situation, and was completely obliterated with one punch.
Calls for Joshua to walk away, like Deontay Wilder should after his two losses, are now rife. Another massive punch could do more harm than good for the Londoner.
Whether that comes from Dubois or Fury may not matter in the grand scheme of Joshua’s career deterioration since 2019.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
