If Anthony Joshua fights Daniel Dubois again, he will be looking for a very different outcome.
In September, the former heavyweight champion entered the ring at Wembley Stadium hoping to win and become a three-time titlist, but it was not to be.
“AJ” had already been knocked down by a massive looping overhand from “DDD” just before the first round ended. He was sent down multiple times before losing by stoppage in the fifth round, and he never fully recovered from that shot.
After stopping Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin, and Robert Helenius in his last three fights, Joshua’s winning streak came to an abrupt end.
Zhilei Zhang, a man Joshua defeated in the amateur levels at the London 2012 Olympics, has long desired another chance at the British athlete.
Speaking to Seconds Out, ‘Big Bang’ believes a rematch with Dubois would be a bad move for Joshua.
“I can’t really say I’m disappointed because as a boxing fan myself I look at it from a fan’s perspective. Joshua has been on top of the pyramid for years and when you’re on top of the food chain that definitely changes your mentality a bit.
This defeat, I don’t know where it puts him mentally, but I think the rematch will be a worse-case scenario for Joshua.”
He then claimed he might never get his shot at AJ now.
“I don’t think he is ever going to fight me in the near future after this loss. We’ll see what happens but I strongly recommend he doesn’t take this rematch.
I have been saying for years I want to test his chin, but Dubois did the job for me, but after seeing the result I don’t want to test it any more. He’s going to do everything he can to avoid me now.”