Anthony Joshua’s promoter clarifies boxer’s future after Daniel Dubois loss, rules out retirement
Former heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua isn’t planning on hanging up the gloves anytime soon despite suffering one of the most brutal losses of his career.
Joshua lost to Daniel Dubois by fifth-round knockout last weekend at Wembley Stadium. The loss snapped a four-fight winning streak, including recent wins over former UFC champ Francis Ngannou and Robert Helenius.
After the shocking defeat, Joshua seemed undeterred in his pursuit of heavyweight boxing greatness. However, multiple Hall of Famers, including Prince Naseem Hamed, have called for Joshua to walk away.
Eddie Hearn: Anthony Joshua won’t retire, wants two 2025 fights
In a recent interview with TMZ Sports, promoter Eddie Hearn revealed Joshua’s plans after the loss to Dubois.
“I had a great chat with him yesterday, even after getting beat, [he] feels great,” Hearn said of Joshua. “He looked great, sparring was fantastic, he’s been on this great run where he’s looked in tremendous form. And he didn’t perform on the night. So the team has to go away and ask ‘Why?’…
“I don’t think that’s a conversation we should be having yet. The next training camp will tell us if we see a fighter deteriorate in the gym. In the spars, in the sessions…we’ll have to review that at the time, but we feel physically, very motivated to continue. In a weird way, he kind of enjoyed the fight, because he’s never been in the deep trenches like that before. Obviously, it’s not one that you want very often in your career…you’ll definitely see him back in the ring in 2025. ”
Hearn was pressed on how many fights Joshua wants in the next calendar. He said Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alashikh wants the Dubois vs. Joshua rematch in 2025, and Joshua also wants to potentially face the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 winner.