Anthony Joshua remains a heavyweight contender capable of delivering more thrilling nights despite his brutal knockout by Daniel Dubois, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
Joshua crashed to the fourth defeat of his career after being counted out in the fifth round of a breathtaking collision at Wembley that signalled IBF world champion Dubois’ ascent to the big time.
Dubois displayed ferocious power, skill and a granite chin to send shockwaves through a division that has now been confronted with evidence its most marketable star is a faded force with an uncertain future.
“What I witnessed was one guy showed up for the fight, the other guy didn’t,” was the biting assessment of Lennox Lewis after Joshua was floored four times in front of a record-breaking official attendance of 98,128.
But Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn believes the appeal of a rematch against Dubois as well as another all-British clash with Tyson Fury, who faces Oleksandr Usyk on December 21, provides options after Joshua himself vowed to fight on.
“That’s probably the only time in his whole career I’ve seen AJ really hurt,” said Hearn, who had overseen a careful rebuild of Joshua’s career following his losses to Andy Ruiz and Usyk.
“Of course he’s in the closing chapters of his career, there’s no doubt about that, and if you start getting knocked out like that, you certainly have to look at things.
“You never want to carry on too long, but at the same time AJ is a heavyweight who doesn’t actually have many miles on the clock. Fighters sometimes need saving from themselves but AJ is a smart guy.
“We all know we’ve seen the best AJ over the last year so it’s difficult to say that just because he got chinned by Dubois, that’s it.”
Boxing’s new kingmaker Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, will have the ultimate say on where Joshua fits into the heavyweight landscape.
Hearn continued: “We have another fight with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh and Daniel Dubois is part of that plan, but so too could be Tyson Fury or another heavyweight.
“Whether it’s against Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury or whoever, you are going to be entertained because that was incredibly entertaining, albeit you don’t want to see your fighter get beat like that.
“Our interests are to make sure he leaves this sport with legacy and a huge amount of money, but also his health intact.”
Hearn admits it “couldn’t have got any worse” after seeing Joshua saved by the bell at the end of the first and third rounds as his wide open defence invited catastrophe in the face of Dubois’ relentless assault.
But the former unified world champion rose to his feet three times to battle on until a counter right hand at the end of a firefight in which he caught Dubois flush ended his night.
“The start was disastrous and the only positive I can take is the unbelievable heart, guts and nuts that AJ showed to never give up,” Hearn said.
“Even when he didn’t have his legs, he was trying to land the right hand and he was trying to find a way back into the fight.
“Daniel Dubois deserves a lot of credit as well. I don’t think he was disrespected as the champion, but he was the clear B-side in the fight and he came out as a star.”