Dubois rematch is Joshua’s ‘No.1 priority’

By Declan Taylor

ANTHONY JOSHUA’S ‘No.1 priority’ is an immediate rematch with Daniel Dubois, according to his promoter Eddie Hearn.

Joshua, who had been down three times, suffered the first knockout defeat of his career on Saturday when Dubois closed the show at Wembley with a devastating short right hand in the fifth round of their heavyweight classic.

The two-time world heavyweight champion has already confirmed that he has no plans to retire following the loss and attentions have already turned to what might be next for the 34-year-old.

And during an interview with Boxing News, his long-time promoter Hearn confirmed that Joshua will be pursuing a return with Dubois for his next fight.

Hearn joined Dubois and Frank Warren, among others, for an evening with Turki Al-Alshikh on Monday, just 48 hours after the Wembley spectacle, and revealed that the rematch is already being discussed.

The Matchroom boss said: “He will for sure have another fight with Riyadh Season and one of those options is a rematch with Daniel Dubois.

“If we want to go to His Excellency and say ‘we want that rematch’, that fight will happen. We have options as well within our arrangement.

“When people say ‘he doesn’t have a rematch clause’…Rematch clauses come in many different ways but ultimately the rematch is one of our choices with His Excellency and I believe, having had conversations with him, if that was the choice that we wanted to take we could do it.

“I saw Daniel on Monday night, we were all with His Excellency until the early hours of the morning. The rematch is definitely a fight that is being discussed and considered but it is two days after the fight and we’ve got to meet with AJ and talk through possible timings to return as well.

“Obviously December 21 is a big moment for us and a big moment for the heavyweight division. It’s just a case of whether we make the decision before that fight.”

In Saturday’s post-fight press conference, Hearn suggested that Joshua is unlikely to want to ‘rebuild’ against the likes of Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, like he did after his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.

Instead, AJ has already been linked with a number of big names in the heavyweight division and Hearn believes they could be possible too.

When asked if Deontay Wilder might be an option, Hearn said: “That’s a fight that prior to Saturday would never happen but I think it’s a fascinating fight now and certainly one that people would tune into.

“Joe Joyce, Yeah, an all-British fight with some history there but it hasn’t been discussed.

“I don’t rule out Wilder or Joyce but AJ will want the biggest fights. He’s a fighter, his No.1 priority is to rematch Daniel Dubois.”