Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, predicts that Daniel Dubois will immediately freeze under the pressure and be knocked out by AJ within three rounds on Saturday night.
Hearn needs the 34-year-old Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) to win this fight because there is a lot of money on the line for an AJ vs. Tyson Fury fight in the first quarter of 2025.
If Joshua’s ship is stomped by Dubois in a brutal knockout in front of 96,000 at London’s Wembley Stadium, the potential fight with Fury could disappear. Hearn sounds almost desperate for Joshua to defeat IBF heavyweight champion Dubois.
The Joshua-Fury fight could still happen, but PPV sales will be reduced because it will be seen as just a match between two aging Brits, especially if Oleksandr Usyk beats Fury in their December 21 rematch.
Fans would expect Joshua Dubois to immediately reconsider if he lost, just like he did in 2019 when Andy Ruiz Jr. knocked him out. Joshua and Hearn had no trouble forcing an immediate rematch with Ruiz, but it was against a different kind of fighter, a younger version of AJ.
Joshua is now about to turn 35, and he will not fight an obese 283 lb Ruiz in a rematch against Dubois. If he loses to Dubois, there’s no chance Daniel will feed himself into a state of ill health like Andy Ruiz Jr. did when Joshua fought him in a rematch in December 2019.
“Daniel Dubois is going to completely freeze in the circumstances,” Eddie Hearn told Charlie Parson’s. YouTube channel, predicting that Daniel Dubois will be unnerved by his moment in the spotlight against Anthony Joshua on Saturday night.
It almost sounds like Hearn is projecting what many believe will happen to Joshua with him wilting under the pressure and mentally crumbling from the withering attack by IBF heavyweight champion Dubois.
“When Daniel Dubois freezes, he doesn’t just stand there and let AJ beat him. He’ll have a right swing, and he’s going to be very dangerous. It could be a three-round shootout. It’s going to be exciting,” Hearn said.
Joshua will probably freeze like a car that has blown a piston and is stuck on the side of the road, to be towed away by a tow truck. His historically poor cardio is exacerbated when he has opposition knocking him back. He stresses out, which causes him to use up energy and tire quickly.
“I believe a cool, calm, calculated with a sniper-like style against Daniel Dubois, and take him out in three rounds. Everyone is nervous and excited about the chance for AJ to make history,” Hearn said.
In the past, Joshua has not shown himself to be “cool” or “calm” in his fights against world class fighters. He has always been nervous and panicked when faced with quality opposition knocking him back.
You can’t expect Joshua to be anything different than what he has shown in the past because he is already in his ways. He won’t change, and it doesn’t matter that he has Ben Davison as his coach. This is the same Joshua as before.
