Road to Joshua vs Dubois rematch takes fresh turn

Daniel Dubois dropped Anthony Joshua four times en route to a fifth-round victory in September

Alex Pattle
Combat Sports Correspondent
Tuesday 15 October 2024 10:36 EDT
Comments
Anthony Joshua breaks silence on retirement rumours after Daniel Dubois defeat

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois 2 may not be next for either fighter, according to Frank Warren, as the first Saudi boxing show of 2025 starts to take shape.

Dubois dropped Joshua four times en route to a fifth-round victory in September, retaining the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium.

A rematch clause was revealed after the fight, allowing “AJ” a second shot at his fellow Briton, but there are other options on the table for Dubois, his promoter has said.

“He’ll fight next year – early next year – and we are just looking at a few matches,” Warren told Talksport on Tuesday (15 October). “I hope we get it done by next week, who he’ll be facing, but he’s going to defend his title.

“And we’ll see who it’s going to be. It may be AJ, it may not. It depends, but whatever happens, he’ll be out. He’ll be facing someone, that’s for sure, and capitalising on what he did in that fight.

“I mean, I have no problem with that [Joshua rematch]. I’d have that fight all day long for him.”

Saudi adviser Turki Al-Sheikh recently announced that the nation’s first event of 2025 will take place in February. And Warren is keen to see Dubois, 27, compete on that card.

Daniel Dubois (left) stopped Anthony Joshua in five rounds at Wembley
Daniel Dubois (left) stopped Anthony Joshua in five rounds at Wembley (PA Wire)

“That’s what I would like to see,” he said. “That’s where I’d like to see him fighting. Well, we’ll see what happens.”

The next Saudi event will take place on 21 December, as Tyson Fury seeks revenge against Oleksandr Usyk, seven months after losing to the Ukrainian in Riyadh.

Usyk beat Fury on points to become undisputed heavyweight champion, but the unbeaten southpaw later vacated the IBF belt, which now belongs to Dubois.

Dubois’s victory over Joshua, who turned 35 on Tuesday, marked “Dynamite”’s first defence of the gold.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in