Eddie Hearn has told Anthony Joshua what fight to take next following his crushing defeat to Daniel Dubois.
Joshua suffered a damaging fifth-round knockout defeat to Dubois at last weekend’s Riyadh Season card at Wembley Stadium, prompting an X-rated reaction from Tyson Fury. A rematch could be on the cards as Dubois has welcomed a second meeting with Joshua following the biggest win of his professional career. But Hearn, who promotes ‘AJ’, has proposed a different fight to take next.
The Matchroom chief thinks Joshua should face Fury next regardless of the outcome of his rematch against Oleksandr Usyk, which takes place on December 21. He argued that Fury should face Joshua if he loses to Usyk and put forward a case for the ‘Gypsy King’ to defend the unified world heavyweight titles against his domestic rival if he wins the rematch.
Assessing the 34-year-old’s options, Hearn said: “When you look back at his defeats, we’ve always jumped straight back in.
“When he lost to Andy Ruiz, everyone said ‘whatever you do, don’t fight Ruiz straight away. Come back, have a 10-rounder’.
“AJ went, ‘absolutely no chance – I should’ve beaten Ruiz, I can beat Ruiz, let me rematch him’. He goes out and wins every round.
“[Oleksandr] Usyk – a lot of people said we shouldn’t have fought him in the first place. AJ got well beaten there.
“[I thought] I know it’s a shot at the world heavyweight title again, but… no. [He thought], ‘I’m rematching Usyk’. He performed much better, but didn’t win.
“Now, we feel that we should be beating Daniel Dubois, and we can beat Daniel Dubois. But are you ready to go straight back in with him?
“We have that option under contract. I know that His Excellency wants the immediate rematch. Probably February time. Is that too early? Is there a spot later? We know that Riyadh Season finishes at the end of February/early March.”
The promoter added: “Do we wait for Tyson Fury? If Tyson Fury loses [to Usyk in December], I think AJ and Fury should have two fights and sail off into the sunset.
“If Tyson Fury wins, he defends against AJ for the unified world heavyweight championship. So, we get another crack at the title there as well.
“In AJ’s mind, he will want to go straight back in with Dubois. I know what he’s like. But this is a very important decision and we’re three days after the fact. So, give us a bit of time.
“Then make a decision for what will be the closing chapter of his career. I said to him you’ve got between one and three fights left.
“Then the phone went very quiet. It was the realisation that we’re on the home straight. Hopefully the final chapter can be the best yet.”
So, Hearn is not only proposing Joshua vs. Fury next but also a rematch in what would be a blockbuster two-fight deal.
