Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says Daniel Dubois could get knocked out in the first round if he comes out “like a train” right off the bat in their fight on September 21st.
Hearn feels it won’t work for Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) if he starts quickly against Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs), who he likens to a military “sniper” with his ability to land pinpoint shots that destroy his targets.
(Credit: Ryan Hafey & Rey Del Rio/Premier Boxing Champions)
It could be that Hearn is giving a misdirect, trying to encourage IBF heavyweight champion Dubois not to start fast, knowing that Joshua has a weak chin and has a history of gassing out fast against fighters that jump on him immediately.
Hearn needs Joshua to win this fight to keep his career alive, keep him onboard as Matchroom’s top money-maker, and to ensure that he gets to the Tyson Fury mega-fight with a win rather than just coming for the payday after being knocked out by the young lion Dubois.
If Hearn can plant the seeds of doubt in Daniel Dubois’s mind, he might use the wrong approach, which would help Joshua win and keep the cash rolling in for Matchroom for a little while longer.
Hearn is kind of a sly one, and he’s going to try every trick in the book to get Dubois fighting beneath his capability on September 21st because it might be AJ’s only chance. He’s not young—he’s nearing 35 in October—and has a lot of miles on the odometer.
If Joshua were a car, he’d be pushing 300,000, throwing blue smoke out his tailpipe, and ready for the junkyard soon.
Hearn had done a good job of painting a false picture of Joshua having been rebuilt by his hand and the clever work of trainer Ben Davison, but that isn’t reality. He’s not been rebuilt. It’s just the same old smoke and mirrors.
Joshua is two years older since his last defeat against Oleksandr Usyk and hasn’t improved one iota. AJ is actually less equipped physically and mentally than he was in his implosion against Usyk in August 2022.
“I think it all comes down to Daniel Dubois. If he comes out like a train, he’s going to be dangerous, but he can also get chinned in the first round,” said Eddie Hearn to the Boxing News channel, giving his analysis of next Saturday’s showdown between Anthony Joshua and IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
Nah, that’s not how it is. Hearn wants Dubois to start slow because that gives Joshua the time to figure him out and line him up for a right hand like we saw in his recent fights against the tomato cans Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin, and Robert Helenius.
Joshua does not fight well in frantic, nonstop war, where he has to push his body-builder physique beyond its cardiovascular limits. AJ is at his best when it’s a slow, one punch at a time type of contest, where he has lots of time to rest up between shots.
“If he [Dubois] tries to get into the fight, I don’t know what the tactics will be. I don’t think he’s going to be as aggressive as he was in the Hrgovic fight because Don Charles knows [it won’t be effective],” said Hearn.
I hate to break this to Hearn, but Dubois will fight Joshua just like he did against Filip Hrgovic because Joshua is even older and less equipped for battle than the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist.
Dubois won’t take it easy on Joshua, fighting him like he’s walking on eggshells, hoping to outbox him or get him out of there in the later rounds. Dubois will attack him like a hungry shark, feasting on a nice meal in the Pacific, and there’s not much Hearn can do about it. He can try and pick up the pieces of what’s left of Joshua afterward and glue them back together.
“They’re smart trainers. AJ is like a sniper. You make one mistake, he’s switching your lights out,” said Hearn. “So, you’ve got to be a little cautious, but maybe they’re [Team Dubois] just saying, ‘That’s our best chance. Maybe we’ll just go for it.’”
Joshua’s power is overrated. He’s got good power, but it’s not out of this world. His biggest drawback is he’s unable to put his shots together in combination form due to his poor stamina. If Joshua throws more than a handful of shots, he gasses out and stays gassed for three to four rounds before getting his second wind.
“AJ and [trainer] Ben [Davison] will be prepared for everything, but it’s a brilliant fight. I think Aj wins by stoppage, but you’ve got a young heavyweight that can punch that is full of energy but he makes a lot of mistakes. If you make mistakes against Anthony Joshua, the fight is over,” said Hearn, glazing Joshua.
AJ’s trainer, Ben Davison, isn’t prepared for anything. He can only tell Joshua to throw the right hand and hope for the best. If that doesn’t work, Davison won’t have any answers. It’s just real simple stuff from Ben.
If Joshua is knocked out, don’t be surprised if Davison is given his walking papers, and AJ will look for the next magic genie to come in and rebuild him in a pseudo manner.
Read the full article here
