Anthony Joshua Eyes Rematch After Dubois Knockout Loss

Promoter Eddie Hearn Confirms Retirement is Off the Table; Rematch and Fury Fights Still in Play

Anthony Joshua eyes rematch with Daniel Dubois /

By Moses Ochieng

Anthony Joshua's career was thrown into uncertainty after his five-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in front of a record-breaking British crowd of 98,000. Despite the defeat, Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) was quick to declare that this is not the end of his journey, rejecting retirement as he still has one more fight under contract with Saudi Arabia’s boxing figurehead, Turki Alalshikh, and Riyadh Season.

After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn stated that a rematch is a possibility, and he’s confident Joshua, with his warrior mentality, will want to go after it. Dubois has also expressed interest, claiming he could deliver an even more dominant performance in a second bout. A rematch with Joshua could be crucial for Dubois to seek redemption and re-establish himself in the heavyweight division.

AJ's future is uncertain, but his promoter Eddie Hearn has dismissed the idea of retirement, stating that he plans to invoke the rematch clause in the fight contract.

 "Rematch clauses come in many different forms. We have a fight with Riyadh Season. One of our options is to fight Daniel Dubois again, and our contract is with them. His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will deal with Frank and Daniel and make that fight happen. The terms will have to be agreed with them. We have already agreed our terms, we have the option to rematch with Dubois,” Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT.

"Our meetings with His Excellency, he wants the rematch. AJ will always want the rematch. Daniel wants the rematch too it's the biggest fight for him and they will fancy it. It is a case of going away and talking about, do we go straight into the rematch? And when will it be? It was a heavy night at the office, we aren't going back to fight in 10-12 weeks, he needs his rest and time to recover,” continued Hearn.

Hearn revealed that Joshua, 34, could still face Tyson Fury next, regardless of the outcome against Usyk. Meanwhile, Dubois, 27, was considering a rematch with Usyk following his ninth-round stoppage defeat last year. However, his promoter, Frank Warren, has suggested the possibility of a rematch with AJ, potentially set for February.

 Warren also emphasized that a fight with Fury remains a possibility in the new year despite Joshua's recent loss. He further clarified that while a rematch with AJ isn't contracted, it could still happen.