Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn predicts that Daniel Dubois will immediately freeze under the pressure and be knocked out in three rounds by AJ on Saturday night.
Hearn needs the 34-year-old Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) to win this fight because there is a lot of money at stake for an AJ vs. Tyson Fury fight in the first quarter of 2025.
If Joshua’s ship is scuttled by Dubois in a brutal knockout in front of 96,000 at Wembley Stadium in London, the potential fight with Fury could disappear. Hearn sounds almost desperate for Joshua to defeat IBF heavyweight champion Dubois.
The Joshua-Fury fight could still happen, but PPV sales would be down because it would only be seen as a match between two older Englishmen, especially if Oleksandr Usyk beats Fury in their rematch on December 21.
Fans expect Joshua to immediately put Dubois back down if he loses, as he did in 2019 when Andy Ruiz Jr. he kicked him out. Joshua and Hearn had no problem forcing an immediate rematch with Ruiz, but that was against a different type of fighter, a younger version of AJ.
Joshua is now about to turn 35, and will not fight an obese 283-lb Ruiz in a rematch against Dubois. If he loses to Dubois, there is no chance that Daniel will be in poor health like Andy Ruiz Jr. he did when Joshua fought in a rematch in December 2019.
“Daniel Dubois will completely freeze under the circumstances,” Eddie Hearn told Charlie Parson. YouTube channel, predicting that Daniel Dubois will be unnerved by his moment in the spotlight against Anthony Joshua on Saturday night.
It almost seems like Hearn is projecting what many believe will happen to Joshua with him freezing under the pressure and mentally breaking down from the lightning attack from IBF heavyweight champion Dubois.
“When Daniel Dubois freezes, he’s not just going to stand there and let AJ hit him. He’s going to have a right swing, and he’s going to be very dangerous. It could be a three-round shootout. It’s going to be exciting,” Hearn said.
Joshua probably froze like a car that blew a piston and is stuck on the side of the road, having to be hauled away by a tow truck. His historically poor cardio worsens when he faces the opposition that comes his way. Stress out, making you spend energy and get tired quickly.
“I think he’s cool, calm, calculated with a sniper-like style against Daniel Dubois, and he knocks him out in three rounds. Everyone is nervous and excited about the chance for AJ to make history,” said Hearn.
Joshua has not proven to be “cool” or “calm” in his fights against world class fighters in the past. He has always been nervous and panicked when he faces quality opposition that punches him in the back.
You cannot expect Joshua to be anything other than what he has shown in the past because he is already set in his ways. He won’t change, and it doesn’t matter that he has Ben Davison as his coach. It’s the same Joshua as before.
