Two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is at a crossroads after his humbling defeat at the hands of fellow Briton Daniel Dubois at Wembley on Saturday.
The 34-year-old was demolished in a powerful display by a man seven years his junior.
It was a fourth career defeat for Joshua following losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, and underdog Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019.
So with a long-awaited domestic blockbuster against Tyson Fury looking further away than ever, what happens now for one of Britain’s greatest ever heavyweight fighters?
Bullied, outboxed and outthought – where did it go wrong?
Joshua arrived at Wembley after four consecutive victories, including an impressive knockout win over Francis Ngannou in March.
But he was dominated by IBF heavyweight champion Dubois, who has lost two of his 24 fights.
After being knocked down in the first round, Joshua hit the canvas several times more, including twice in the third, before the fight ended in the fifth.
“He wasn’t just knocked out – he was outboxed, outthought and outfought and, ultimately, bullied by the stronger, younger, fitter guy,” said former world champion Barry Jones on the 5 Live Boxing podcast.
“He didn’t recover from the first knockdown. He did well to get up but he was on borrowed time.”
Jones, a former featherweight, said no-one would be “shocked” Dubois won but the bout was a “demolition job”.
“Joshua looked so tentative,” he added. “He made novice mistakes.”
Joshua told the podcast it was a “bad night at the office”.
“It just wasn’t my night,” he said. “I wasn’t setting shots up. In a shootout like that you have to be sniper-esque. But when you’ve been hit a few times you’re in survival mode.”
Former world heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis said: “One guy showed up, one guy didn’t. Disappointed.”
‘He should walk away’ – what next for Joshua?
In the immediate aftermath of the fight, Joshua said he wanted to continue in boxing.
Describing himself as a “warrior”, he added: “If people want to see me fight, I will fight.”
Joshua won gold at the 2012 Olympics in his home city of London, and claimed his first world title eight years ago.
Saturday’s fight was his 32nd as a professional – and afterwards hinted he had a rematch clause.
Fury, watching ringside, joked to a television camera that Joshua’s defeat had cost him £150m – the sort of fee he could have expected if the two were to fight.
In the meantime, Fury must focus on his rematch with Usyk in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua has also been linked with a bout against former world champion Deontay Wilder – but the 38-year-old American’s past two fights were defeats against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang. Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott was at Wembley on Saturday night.
While the Briton ponders his options, Jones is clear on what he believes his next step should be.
Asked if Joshua should “walk away”, the Welshman said: “I think he should. He’s a credit to the sport and has reinvented sport in Britain in many ways. He made stadium fights seem the norm.
“He’s got all that money, he’s still got his health, and he’ll be a celebrity until the day he dies if that’s what he wants.”
Joshua’s long-time promoter Eddie Hearn said: “We’ve been here before, but the defeat by Ruiz was far more brutal.
“He’s OK. He’s gutted and kind of kicking himself about the mistakes he made. A lot of people around him are saying: ‘It couldn’t have gone any worse and he still could have won.’
“Of course he’s in the closing chapters of his career, there’s no doubt about that, and if you start getting knocked out like that you certainly have to look at things.
“We all know we’ve seen the best AJ over the last year so it’s difficult to say that just because he got chinned by Dubois, that’s it.”
‘Phenomenal legacy’ – where does the defeat leave his reputation?
Joshua became the poster boy of British boxing after winning Olympic gold.
But despite a glittering career and unforgettable wins including his 11th-round knockout of Wladimir Klitschko in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley in April 2017, his reputation has been tarnished by subsequent defeats.
“He is not the greatest heavyweight of all time and was never going to be because he didn’t have the opposition around him to warrant that, but he’s been a good heavyweight,” Jones added. “His legacy in the UK is phenomenal. For a while, he was the standout heavyweight in the division – but not for a long while.
“The thing with boxers is – all the money is great but it’s your identity. What do you do if you’re not a boxer anymore?”
