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 back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk prevent him from losing again after all that work.
(Credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing)
Promoter Eddie Hearn says a “loss” isn’t in AJ’s thinking processes, but he could still lose to Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs). It would be disastrous for Joshua, who could scupper 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, his career is over?'” said Eddie Hearn on DAZN boxing. channel about Anthony Joshua being in a must-win fight against Daniel Dubois on Saturday night.
“You have to work your way up the table, and when you fall, it’s a long way back. After the defeat of Usyk, he did that. He worked himself to the top of the table, and on Saturday, he had the chance to be a king again,” Hearn said of Joshua.
Hearn has to be concerned about a potential loss to Joshua because he has put in all that time and work with his recent long climb at this point. It took Joshua two years to come back, and if he is beaten by Dubois, all will be lost. Hearn would be better off bringing Joshua down faster.
“You beat. You fall again, and the rebuilding process is arduous; it’s a long job, and it’s a long way back. For us, there’s only one thing we have to do and that’s winning. A loss is not even in the thought process,” Hearn said.
“His age. There’s a little more pressure at age. He’s trying to pack on a little more, you know?” said promoter Frank Warren of Joshua’s age.
Hearn might not want to mention the possibility of Joshua losing to Dubois, but it is very real. He could lose because this is the type of puncher that Joshua has never faced during his career.
Even when AJ fought Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, he wasn’t dealing with a slugger on Dubois’ level. Klitschko was 41, past, 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’s a little shaky. It’s not someone coming off controversy where their heart is in question,” Hearn said.
“Dubois seems to have put the piece back between his teeth. The doubts and questions that were there in the past (are no longer there). He seems to be a new fighter.”
Dubois has changed since his loss to Oleksandr Usyk in 2023. He’s much more aggressive now, and he won’t back down or quit if the going gets tough.
He was given a bad deal in his match against Usyk when the referee overturned a call to not give him credit for a knockout in the fifth round when he dropped him with a body shot.
“AJ, the questions of ‘Did you get it yet?’ It looks better than ever under Ben Davison,” Hearn said.
Joshua looks better than ever based on the limited level of opposition he has faced in the two fights since he hired Ben Davison as his trainer. Those weren’t world-class fighters that Joshua recently beat with his wins over Francis Ngannou and Otto Wallin. Dubois is the real deal, and we’ll see if Joshua really is “better than ever” or if it’s just more lip service from Hearn.
