Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has explained the “calculated” reason why his fighter may take a rematch with Daniel Dubois next.
Joshua was dropped several times by Dubois en route to a knockout loss in September, as the latter retained the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium.
It was suggested after the fight that Joshua has a rematch clause, although some fans and pundits have advised “AJ” not to face his fellow Briton next. Hearn, however, has lifted the lid on Joshua’s thinking.
“My initial thought after the fight was: ‘Let’s just chill out, maybe wait for Fury vs Usyk,’” Hearn told Sky Sports, referencing the heavyweight title rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk, scheduled for 21 December.
“AJ’s reaction was quite a bit different. Obviously, out of pride, you always want to take the rematch – but it’s a little bit more calculated than that.
“It’s more like: Well, what happens if Usyk vs Fury doesn’t happen? What if someone gets injured? And even if it does happen, they’re not going to fight again until July, August. Then [Joshua thinks]: ‘I’m out the ring for nearly a year, and I want to be active.’
“[Joshua thinks]: ‘I want to win the world heavyweight title, and I’ve got a shot there to win the world heavyweight title in my hand. Obviously it’s a dangerous fight [against Dubois], but I can’t box any worse than I did.’”
Hearn added: “When you start actually thinking about it, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to make. I know that he is leaning towards the rematch, because he wants to win the world heavyweight title – versus fighting [Deontay] Wilder, waiting for Fury, and then you’ve got all next year bubbling around, not really fighting for the world heavyweight title.
“If it’s solely down to AJ, which it will be at the end of the day, I think it’s going to be very hard to talk him out of taking the rematch.”
The situation could be complicated, however, by the news that the IBF has ordered a title eliminator between Martin Bakole and Agit Kabayel.
The winner of that fight would theoretically be Dubois’s next challenger, unless Joshua faces the champion in good time.
