As Anthony Joshua recovers from a brutal loss, his promoter already sees a way back to the top. Surprisingly, that plan does not put him back in front of Daniel Dubois. Instead, it takes him to fellow former champion Tyson Fury.
Related: Former World Champion Calls Anthony Joshua ‘Damaged Goods’ After Dubois Loss
In a recent interview, Eddie Hearn spoke about what he described as “the most important” move of Anthony Joshua’s career.
“As he’s proven with [Andy] Ruiz and [Oleksandr] Usyk, he’ll only want to do one thing,” Heard told DAZN. “Rematch Daniel Dubois and put the wrong right.”
That “wrong” led to Joshua touching the canvas four times before missing the 10 count in the fifth round. Immediately after the fight, Hearn felt that a rematch was “a given.” While the road is already paved for a do-over, he’s questioning whether or not it makes sense.
“We have within our contract with his excellency and Riyadh Season the option to do the rematch…Daniel Dubois will probably have no problem with the immediate rematch,” Hearn said.
“He just won the fight by stoppage and it’s the biggest fight out there for him. Do we want the rematch? Is it the right move next? Taking away AJ’s emotion, taking away the fighter in him, taking away the pride, do we wait until December 21?”
Hearn on Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury Series in 2025: May the Best Man Win
December 21 will be a pivotal day for the heavyweight division as Usyk rematches Fury for the unified title. In Hearns eyes, the timing might be right for Joshua.
“Daniel Dubois is probably going to fight in February. Is that the right move for us. That’s the next decision. For me, we have to fight Tyson Fury before it’s done…If Tyson Fury loses against Oleksandr Usyk, my advice would be for those two to have two fights in 2025. And then sail off into the sunset. May the best man win.”
Related: Ringside Intel Heavyweight Rankings: Daniel Dubois Shakes Things Up with Big Upset
This plan is solely dependent upon Usyk repeating the success he had against Fury in May.
“If Fury wins against Usyk, then AJ can fight Fury for the unified world heavyweight championship.”
A fight between Joshua and Fury has been on the wish list for fight fans for years now. Tentative plans to put the British stars together have fallen through with ill-timed Joshua losses. Hearn feels that if it never happens, it’ll leave a hole in their legacies.
“If you leave the sport without fighting Tyson Fury, I’m still going to walk up to petrol stations in 10 years. People [will be] saying to me, “Wait, why didn’t you make that fight?”
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