Anthony Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has cast doubt over his man’s readiness for a February rematch with Daniel Dubois.
AJ, who suffered a defeat by knockout in the hands of ‘Dynamite’ after being dropped four times at last month’s Wembley Stadium bout, has since slipped to the seventh spot in the heavyweight boxing rankings. Frank Warren, acting as Dubois’ promoter, has announced his plan for ‘Triple D’s’ next fight to occur early next year, with February 22 marked provisionally for an event in Riyadh.
However, Hearn has suggested that the former heavyweight world champion might require a longer recovery period before stepping back into the ring. Speaking to Sky Sports, Hearn expressed his doubts: “Our concern at the moment is just timing. You’ve got a few little niggles, you get them looked at and then you can’t punch again for four, five weeks. If we’re going to fight him in February, we need to start camp in about three weeks’ time. It’s quite a fast turnaround.”
He added, indicating a preference for a later date: “Ideally we’d like to return around May time. It does feel as though it’s coming on quite quickly. From a body perspective we could probably do with a little bit more time ideally. Sometimes it’s not ideal and you just go for it. But we just need to decide are we going to be ready.”
“[Joshua] has told me categorically: ‘I want the rematch.’ But it’s just a case of whether he’s going to be ready for February and that’s something they’re going to have to decide. It’s not ruled out. But we do appreciate it’s a fast turnaround.”, reports the Mirror.
Dubois is currently able to pick and choose his opponents for nine months under IBF rules before he must make a mandatory defence, seemingly against the victor of Martin Bakole’s IBF final eliminator against Agit Kabayel. Given the window for a voluntary defence, speculation about a second bout with Joshua is mounting.
In light of discussions about a possible rematch, ‘Dynamite’ expressed his thoughts on his adversary’s state of mind during an interview with BoxNation: “He’ll have a lot of demons playing on his mind. Who knows if people are talking him into it, I don’t know. I know from my side I’m ready to go out there and show the world that I’m the king.”
Several boxing legends have suggested that ‘AJ’ Joshua should consider retirement. Speaking to Freebets.com, ex-world champ Anthony Crolla weighed in, saying if Joshua isn’t keen on ‘monster paydays’, then retirement might be the right choice.
“It depends what is in it for AJ now”, he commented. “There are some huge fights out there as Anthony Joshua is still a huge name. Monster paydays out there for him.
“If he’s not interested in that, then yeah, I think he should retire. He’s had an unbelievable career, he’s inspired so many and done so much for British boxing, for the amateurs, for the GB lads, he’ll never get the credit he deserves for doing that.”
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