In the immediate aftermath of Daniel Dubois’ sensational fifth-round knockout triumph over Anthony Joshua in September, attention quickly moved from the winner of the fight to what was next for the loser.
Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) suffered the most destructive defeat of his career that night at Wembley Stadium. The former two-time unified champion was battered to the canvas four times in the first four rounds and knocked out cold by the IBF champ in the fifth.
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That ending was not in the script, so there was immediate rematch talk after the fight concluded. Some fans and experts were quick to dismiss the sequel for two reasons: 1. Dubois won the fight convincingly and 2. Joshua entered the match as the challenger, not as a champion.
“AJ desperately wants revenge but the only issue is timing,” said Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn in an interview with BBC Sport. “For the rematch to happen in February, training camp will have to start in a couple of weeks. There are always niggles and he had a few so physically it’s just a case of whether AJ is ready to do that.
“It would be frustrating if we made the Dubois rematch and [Tyson] Fury won [against Oleksandr Usyk]. Then we’re sitting there going, ‘Hang on a minute, we’re fighting Dubois but we could have fought Fury in May for the biggest fight in boxing.
“Win or lose, we can fight Fury next summer. But if he wins, AJ fights him for the world title.”
The Sporting News looks at the two superfight options Joshua has in 2025.
Will Anthony Joshua fight Daniel Dubois?
Let’s face it, Joshua was badly beaten in London, and rushing the rematch is roundly viewed as being a very bad idea.
Even though AJ can take confidence from the fact that he rocked Dubois just moments before being knocked out, that doesn’t take away from how the rest of the fight played out and the overall result.
The guess here is that Dubois fights in February, but it’s not Joshua in the other corner.
Will Anthony Joshua fight Tyson Fury?
Regardless of whether or not Fury beats reigning unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh on December 21, the Fury vs. Joshua fight remains colossal.
Some say that if Fury loses to the gifted Ukrainian southpaw for a second time, then the Joshua fight will have lost all its luster forever as neither man would be champion. However, Fury vs. Joshua transcended title belts long ago.
The Dubois rematch is a very lucrative fight for Joshua, but it’s not in the same dimension as the long-awaited showdown with Fury. Snd the bout is career-defining.
Mark your calendar for Fury vs. Joshua next summer, whether “The Gypsy King” beats Usyk or not.
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