Eddie Hearn, promoter of Anthony Joshua, is confident that the defeated British boxer will face Daniel Dubois in a rematch. Joshua, 34, lost to Dubois by knockout in the fifth round during their fight at Wembley Stadium, missing the chance to claim the IBF world heavyweight title. However, a rematch seems likely.
After the event, which drew a crowd of 96,000, Hearn stated, “I am sure he’ll exercise that rematch clause. I think that’s a given. But he’ll need a rest and it’s a dangerous fight. This guy (Dubois) is growing in confidence all the time, but 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.”
On the other hand, Dubois’ promoter, Frank Warren, has expressed interest in seeing Dubois fight Oleksandr Usyk, who is set to have a rematch against Tyson Fury in December. Warren remarked, “Oleksandr Usyk is considered to be at the moment the best heavyweight in the world and he gave him at that time his toughest fight, there’s no doubt about that. I’d like to see him fight him now, but obviously, he’s got to fight Tyson [Fury] first and I think that Tyson will take his scalp.”
He continued praising Dubois’s performance, saying, “Everybody here saw a champion’s performance tonight. Two great fighters in the ring, and a champion’s performance. He’s showed his courage, his skills, and his resilience. AJ caught him with a shot over there and I was worried about that. But he caught him with a counter.”
Dubois himself hinted at a desire to fight Usyk, stating, “Maybe Usyk, a big shot at my redemption. Anyone… anyone can get it. I’ve just been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story and I’m not going to stop until I reach my full potential.”
Reflecting on his fourth professional loss, Joshua acknowledged Dubois’s victory. He said, “Credit to him and his team; we rolled the dice at success and we came up short. But I want to say everyone at Wembley, I appreciate you coming out this evening. You know I’m p*****, you know I’m ready to kick off in the ring but I’m going to keep my cool and stay very professional and give the respect to my opponent.”