In the aftermath of his defeat to Daniel Dubois, boxing star Anthony Joshua has been handed a temporary boxing ban.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion is required to stay out of the ring for 28 days following his stunning knockout at London’s Wembley Stadium last Saturday.
In the bout against his compatriot, Joshua was knocked down three times and was eventually defeated by ‘DDD’ in the fifth round with a powerful right hand.
The British Boxing Board of Control has imposed the short-term suspension on AJ. The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports notes that medical suspensions are common practice after fighters experience TKO or KO losses.
Joshua’s schedule does not currently include any confirmed upcoming fights, making it highly unlikely that this break in action will affect him significantly. The loss to Dubois marks only the fourth defeat of Joshua’s professional career, with previous losses including his first upset to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019 and back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
The future of the Olympic gold medallist has been widely discussed, with opinions varying on his next move. Ex-professional boxer Carl Froch offered a blunt assessment on his YouTube channel, saying: “Anthony Joshua got absolutely battered from pillar to post,” reports the Mirror.
“He lacked ambition, he lacked self-belief and confidence. His powers of recovery are terrible, he looked exhausted. I question Anthony Joshua’s desire to be in that boxing ring anymore. I don’t think AJ wants it anymore, he shouldn’t be boxing. That performance was weak.
“What next for AJ? I don’t even know. This could be see the last we see of Anthony Joshua. I just can’t see a future for Anthony Joshua.”
However, Matchroom Boxing head honcho Eddie Hearn holds a different view on Joshua’s career prospects. When chatting with iFL TV about potential futures, he said: “If Fury was to lose maybe they [AJ and Fury] both say ‘Right, let’s give the public one last hurrah, two big fights, done’.
“Or, if Fury wins, he could defend against AJ for the unified world heavyweight title and AJ could beat him and become a three-time heavyweight champion. Anything’s possible. Or we could rematch Daniel Dubois. Or [he] could fight someone else.
“Deontay Wilder. I dunno, it’s not something that’s been discussed yet but two guys coming off defeats, big punchers, someone’s got to go from the sport. But for me the options are rematch Daniel Dubois or wait and see what happens in Fury against Usyk.”
Joshua has expressed his determination to bounce back after his recent setback, confirming he may activate a rematch clause to face Dubois once more. In a heartfelt video message to his supporters on social media, Joshua reflected: “We came up short but we’ve got to look at all the positives,” and added, “That’s the mindset and that’s the perspective we’ve got to have; a positive one always. Look at what we’ve achieved in the last 11 years, its phenomenal and I want to thank every single one of you who has been riding with me.”
He continued to share his resilient outlook by saying, “What a rollercoaster journey, but you know what the problem is, it’s far from over yet. We’ve done it once, we’ve done it twice and doing it a third time hasn’t been easy bit it’s something I can achieve, it’s about making the right steps forward, working hard and improving. It’s got to come from the heart more than anything. It can’t come from any external voices or influences; it’s got to come form the heart.”
Joshua concluded with a message of gratitude and a call to stay tuned for his next chapter: “It’s only been a day but when I sit back and think, I know I’ve got a lot of heart. Thanks for your support, thanks for being on this rollercoaster journey with me. Keep your seatbelt tight because deep, deep, deep down in here I know I’ve got a lot more to bring to the game and long may it continue.”