Zhilei Zhang advises Anthony Joshua to avoid a ‘career rematch’ with IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Two-time Olympian Zhang says it won’t be a “good thing” for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to tangle with Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) a second time after being destroyed in five rounds last month. in their fight on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Joshua and his team have yet to say whether they will take the immediate rematch with the 27-year-old Dubois or wait to face Tyson Fury in 2025 in Riyadh. Zhang says Joshua has to decide what he wants to do, but he thinks a better option would be for him to fight Deontay Wilder.
Joshua can afford to take risks
AJ is quite wealthy, with a net income estimated by some to be around $200 millionand that kind of wealth allows him to take bigger risks than a fighter without that safety net. If Joshua was poor, he probably wouldn’t consider making the bold move to replace Dubois immediately if he had the opportunity to make a $100 million+ payday fight against Tyson Fury next year. But given his massive King Midas fortune, Joshua can afford to play without worry. If Dubois destroys AJ, he will still have his generational money.
The 38-year-old former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder has lost four of his last five fights, but is still a popular fighter around the world. A match between Joshua and “The Bronze Bomber” Will will generate a lot of interest from fans, as both guys are big punchers but with weak chins. Someone would be defeated first.
Fighting Wilder would be a challenging fight for Joshua to get him a win to help generate more interest in a fight against Fury in 2025.
“If you go to a rematch like that, I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think it’s a career-ending rematch if he takes that path,” Zhilei Zhang told secondsoutrecommending that Anthony Joshua does not take the rematch with the IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.
Another loss for Joshua to Dubois will not end his career because His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has already said that the fight with Fury can still happen, even if they are beaten before they meet. With that kind of freedom and the money AJ has stashed away in the bank, he can get his revenge on Dubois.
“Also, I heard that people say that he has a loss, and Deontay Wilder has a loss recently. So, I think maybe it’s a struggle to put together to think, but really I don’t know. It’s a question that only he ( Joshua) can answer based on his own experience,” Zhang said.
It is doubtful that Joshua will want to fight Wilder because it would be a bad look on his part to take that match. Wilder has lost too many times in the last four years for Joshua to gain anything from fighting him other than money. There is no prestige in the Wilder fight now.
