Anthony Joshua has said he will not retire after losing to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in a failed bid to become a three-time champion at Wembley Stadium in London on Saturday night.
Joshua did not say his plans for his next fight during the post-fight press conference, but he may fight Tyson Fury in early 2025. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is expected to pay Joshua huge money to face Fury. British fans will still be interested, and they will quickly forget about his loss to Dubois.
AJ needs new training team
Joshua (28-4, 23 KOs) sounded like a man in denial, saying his defeat was the result of “fine margins” with training. If AJ believes this, he should fire his trainer, Ben Davison, and the rest of his team for letting him down.
He should, anyway, given how he performed in his fifth-round knockout loss to Dubois on Saturday night. DDD cut through Joshua like a hot knife, knocking him down four times and hurting him half a dozen other times with heavy shots.
In some cases, it’s okay for fighters to hold on to their training gear after a blowout loss like the one Joshua suffered tonight. This time it’s different. AJ looked so completely ill-prepared for the Dubois fight that firing trainer Ben Davison was the only logical move.
It’s not personal. It’s about ensuring that Joshua can be rebuilt to win his next fight and preserve what’s left of his career.
Joshua’s defense and punch resistance were not there tonight. He’s never been known for having a big chin, but tonight he got hurt, even by quick shots from Dubois.
“Always keep your head up. We took a chance on success, and we fell short. We rolled the dice for the third time,” Anthony Joshua told the media following his fifth round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in London on Saturday night.
“We’re trying to make history for British boxing, and I think we’re doing it. You must be asking if I want to keep fighting. Of course I want to keep fighting. That’s why I said, “We took a chance on success, and we fell short,” Joshua said.
It sounds like Joshua is trying to explain away his loss without confronting the reasons for it. The similar reasons for reasons for Joshua’s loss:
- Came in too heavy: AJ looked like he was carrying around too much muscle on his upper body, looking stocky and slow.
- Trainers’ failures: Davison should have had Joshua after Dubois and power shots the entire fight.
- Failure to let hands go: The offensive output of Joshua was low in the first round, which allowed Dubois to take advantage of the situation by going on the attack.
“Now what does that mean? We’re going to run away and live to fight another day. I am a fighter. Also before I finish. You have to give credit to my opponent, Daniel, even though I no longer like him in my head when I enter my opponents.
“Now, it’s done. I take my hat off to him and his team. There were some bugs in it, but that’s the name of the game. Fine margins cost you at the top level,” said Joshua.
AJ made a lot more than a “few mistakes” tonight in his loss to Dubois. He was a walking mess in the ring, fought like he didn’t know what he was doing and didn’t fight like he needed to win.
Of course it goes back to the coach. Davison is the captain of the ship, and he should be the one to take the blame for sending Joshua into the rocks.
