Barry Hearn advises Anthony Joshua to avoid Daniel Dubois rematch next
76-year-old sports promoter Barry Hearn has advised heavyweight Anthony Joshua, who has been signed to Matchroom his entire professional boxing career, to avoid the contractual rematch with Daniel Dubois in favour of a more sensible, lucrative option.
AJ was floored three times and knocked out in round five at Wembley Stadium in September, despite being the bookies favourite.
The heavy-handed Dubois was defending the IBF heavyweight championship that he was elevated from Interim champion to, and the South Londoner did so in clinical style against the two-time world titlist, Joshua.
Joshua is keen to fight Dubois again, in what would be the third rematch of his career, having shared two fights each with Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk, who both beat him too.
However, Matchroom Sports Founder, Barry Hearn has advised otherwise.
Hearn Senior shared his personal opinion, “Personally, I think I’d swerve that. I think Dubois is dangerous and he’s going to be super confident after the last job. I still believe AJ would probably beat him in a rematch if he boxed differently, but that’s just my opinion.
“More likely, a sensible person doesn’t rush anything. You take your time. But he’s his own man and he’s gonna make his own call. And I guess my gut feeling is the warrior still burns within Anthony Joshua and he will want to try once more. My crystal ball starts to clear every now and again.
“A Daniel Dubois rematch would be a big fight. But if Oleksandr Usyk beats Tyson Fury – and I think he’s the favourite to beat Tyson Fury, possibly this time by stoppage – then the most sensible thing would be one or two fights with Tyson Fury.
“One in Riyadh, one in Wembley,” he further proposed. “And that may be the swansong for both of them. And in a perfect world, AJ comes back early next year and fights Tyson Fury in February, March in Saudi and then they go again in the summer at Wembley Stadium.”
In the meantime, Daniel Dubois has been given the green light by the IBF to make a voluntary defence of his belt against domestic rival Fabio Wardley (IBF #12), should he choose to do so.
However, after three big fights in just 10 months, the 27-year-old world champion may decide to rest until the winner of the Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 fight in December is decided, then go for undisputed in 2025.