A decision as to whether Anthony Joshua would rematch Daniel Dubois in February was taken out of his own hands.
Joshua suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of ‘Dynamite’ who dropped him four times en route to a stoppage in their Wembley Stadium at September.
He immediately suggested he would look to rematch his British rival, and a date had been touted by both fighters’ camps for the pair to meet again on February 22.
But AJ has now been ruled out of the return date, having sustained minor injuries in their meeting, which would prevent him being ready in time for early 2025.
Although promoter Eddie Hearn has since revealed it wasn’t Joshua’s decision, with the team forced to advise him to not accept the fight.
“We had a very awkward call,” Hearn remarked to Boxing News.
“He wanted to fight on February 22 and basically was told that there is no way you can start camp and be 100% for February 22, physically.
“There’s nothing major. There’s two or three issues that he had a little bit in camp but also after the fight as well.
“And they said you need to come back in May-June and he didn’t want to do it.
“He wanted to fight on February 22 but unfortunately we kind of had to overrule him on this and say no because we can’t afford not to get this right.
“If you get beaten again by Daniel Dubois you have to seriously consider your future.
“We got one last chapter in this career that we need to make sure we get 100% spot on.
“So when he comes back in May or June or whenever that’s gonna be you got to be physically mentally 100% ready. He wants to rematch Daniel so bad.”
It now appears any sequel will be delayed until later in 2025, with Dubois now allowed by the IBF to make a voluntary defence of his crown against any top 15 opponent.
Joshua is expected to now wait it out until the new year, but is certainly not willing to entertain any calls to retire.
It is expected he will make a concrete decision on his next move, when the outcome of Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 has been decided.
Fury could be an option for Joshua irrespective of the result given their rivalry for several years, which is yet to culminate into a ring meeting.
But the ‘Gypsy King’ still insists Joshua cannot escape his challenge despite their current different trajectories.
He said: “Joshua knows he’s getting it.
“Even if we’re 50 years old he’s got to fight me. There’s no escaping it, he cannot escape me.
“Even if we are 50, we’re still going to sell out Wembley. That is a fact, anybody they can all get it.”
