Anthony Joshua cannot afford a loss against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois this Saturday night. Joshua’s advanced age and his recent two-year rebuild after consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk preclude him from losing again after all that work.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
Promoter Eddie Hearn says a “loss” is not in AJ’s thought processes, but he could still lose to Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs). That would be disastrous for Joshua, potentially throwing off his plans to face Tyson Fury in 2025 in a British mega-fight.
“They’ve been saying that since the Ruiz 2 fight. ‘If he loses this, is his career over?’” said Eddie Hearn on the DAZN boxing channel about Anthony Joshua being in a must-win fight against Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
“You got to work your way up the board, and when you fall down, it’s a long way back. After the Usyk defeat, he’s done that. He’s worked himself right back on top of the board, and on Saturday, he’s got a chance to be a King once more,” said Hearn about Joshua.
Hearn has got to be worried about a potential loss for Joshua because he put in all that time and work with his recent long climb back to this moment. It took Joshua two years to come back, and if he gets beaten by Dubois, it will all have been wasted. Hearn would have been better off bringing back Joshua faster.
“You get beat. You fall right back down again, and the rebuild process is arduous; it’s a long task, and it’s a long road back. For us, there is only one thing that we have to do and that’s win. A loss is not even in the thought process,” said Hearn.
“His age. There’s a bit more pressure at the age. Try to pile a little bit more on, you know?” said promoter Frank Warren about Joshua being up there in age.
Hearn might not want to mention the possibility of Joshua losing to Dubois, but it’s very real. He could lose because this is the type of puncher that Joshua hasn’t ever faced during his career.
Even when AJ fought Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, he wasn’t dealing with a slugger on the level of Dubois. Klitschko was 41, past it, and not the fearless, aggressive fighter Joshua will face on Saturday night.
“That’s the beauty of this fight. It’s not someone coming off a loss that is a bit shaky. It’s not someone coming off controversy where their heart is in question,” said Hearn.
“Dubois looks like he’s got the bit between his teeth again. The doubts and the questions that have been there in the past [are no longer there]. He looks like he’s a new fighter.”
Dubois has changed since his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2023. He’s a lot more aggressive now, and he won’t back off or quit if the going gets tough.
He was given a bad deal in his match against Usyk when the referee blew a call by not giving him credit for a knockout in the fifth round when he dropped him with a body shot.
“AJ, the questions of ‘Does he still got it?’ He looks better than ever under Ben Davison,” said Hearn.
Joshua looks better than ever based on the limited level of opposition he’s faced in the two fights since hiring Ben Davison as his coach. Those were not world-class fighters Joshua recently beat with his victories over Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin. Dubois is the real thing, and we’ll see whether Joshua is truly “better than ever” or if this is just more lip service from Hearn.
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