Antoine Joshua I will fight either Daniel Dubois Or Tyson Fury then, promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed.
Dubois dispatched Joshua in September, dropping “AJ” four times before an emphatic stoppage in the fifth round retain the IBF heavyweight title at Wembley Stadium.
While Joshua has a revenge clauseDubois also has other options, promoter Frank Warren confirmed, but Hearn is adamant there are only two options on the table for the former world champion.
“It’s weird to say it after a knockout loss, but AJ is actually in a really good position,” Matchroom boss Hearn said. BBC Sport.
“We’re going to fight Dubois or Fury next. That’s it. No further interest or warm-up.
Warren said last week that he was pushing to finalize a fight for Dubois by the end of this week.
“He’ll fight next year – early next year – and we’re only looking at a few matches,” Warren said. Sports talk on Tuesday (October 15). “Hopefully we’ll be done by next week, whoever he faces, but he’s going to defend his title.
“And we’ll see who it will be.” Maybe it’s AJ, maybe it’s not. It depends, but whatever happens, he’ll be out. He’ll face someone, that’s for sure, and capitalize on what he did in that fight.
“I mean, I have no problem with it (Joshua rematch). I would fight all day for him.
Saudi advisor Turki Al-Sheikh recently announced that the first national event of 2025 would take place in February. And Warren can’t wait to see Dubois, 27, compete on that card.
“That’s what I’d like to see,” he said. “That’s where I’d like to see him fight.” Well, we’ll see what happens.
The next Saudi event takes place on December 21, when Tyson Fury will seek 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 undefeated southpaw then vacated the IBF belt, which now belongs to Dubois.
Dubois’ victory over Joshua, who turned 35 on Tuesday, marked “Dynamite’s” first defense of the gold medal.