‘Of Course He Can Come Back’

Former two-division UFC champion, Conor McGregor has urged former two-time world heavyweight boxing champion, Anthony Joshua to skirt a potential retirement from combat sports, claiming the Watford veteran is a “legend” and has no business calling time on his career.

Joshua, who returned to the ring overnight at Wembley Stadium, suffered a hugely-dominant fifth round knockout loss against IBF heavyweight champion, Daniel Dubois, in which he was dropped on five separate occasions en route to another knockout defeat.

And seeing his four-fight winning spree halted by IBF titleholder, Dubois as a result, Joshua, who has now dropped a pair of defeats to Ukrainian star, Oleksandar Usyk and a knockout blemish against Mexican veteran, Andy Ruiz Jr. — naturally saw his career future in combat sports called into action.

Conor McGregor urges Anthony Joshua to shut down retirement talk

However, according to the above-mentioned mixed martial arts star, Conor McGregor, Joshua has no business hanging up his gloves from professional boxing — describing the Olympian as a “legend” of the sport.

“Daniel Dubois had no pressure on his shoulders coming in here, very calm, very composed and it showed,” Conor McGregor told The Stomping Ground after the bout. “He came out to go after it from the first bell. (Anthony) Joshua was throwing the same shot over and over again.”

“AJ is number one, this is his eighth stadium [show] here, him, Eddie (Hearn) and Barry (Hearn) — he is a legend forever. “For sure there is, he stood his ground and smacked him back and then he went forward and got caught. It is only boxing. You get caught, you catch someone. Of course he can come back.”

Linked with a return to action following a three-year-plus hiatus at the beginning of next year, McGregor was the subject of a recent call out from surging lightweight favorite, Dan Hooker.