Anthony Joshua isn’t letting his loss to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois discourage him from achieving his goal of becoming a three-time champ. Joshua may get a chance to do that next if Tyson Fury defeats WBA, WBC, and WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on December 21st.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
That would be the ideal situation for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) because he could win three titles against a weak puncher. It’s still questionable whether Joshua could take the punches from Fury, who is still dangerous when throwing rabbit punches.
If Usyk is victorious on December 21st, Joshua must delay his goal for a bit longer. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants him to fight Fury next, even if he loses his fight against Usyk.
Joshua fell apart last Saturday night after being hurt from a right hand in the first round by Dubois (22-2, 21 Kos), and he never recovered. In the fifth, Dubois knocked out Joshua with a fight hand. Joshua attempted to throw a right uppercut, which was wrong against a counter-puncher like Dubois.
“Yesterday, we came up short, but we have to look at the positives. That’s the mindset and the perspective we have to have – a positive one, always,” said Anthony Joshua on X, talking about him not giving up after his loss to Daniel Dubois.
There weren’t many positives for Joshua to take from his loss to Dubois other than his ability to get up three times from knockdowns. His game plan was worthless after he was clipped in the first round because he was forced to fight defensively, and he couldn’t sit down on his shots without putting himself at risk each time he threw.
“Look what we’ve achieved in the space of eleven years; it’s phenomenal. It’s far from over yet. We’ve done it once, and we’ve done it twice; doing it a third time hasn’t been easy, but I believe it’s something I can achieve. It’s about making the right steps forward, working hard, and improving,” said Joshua.
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