Eddie Hearn tries to save Joshua, gives Dubois wrong advice

Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says Daniel Dubois could be knocked out in the first round if he comes “like a train” right off the bat in their fight on September 21.

Hearn feels it won’t work for Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) to start fast against Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs), who he likens to a military “sniper” with his ability to land precise shots that destroy its targets.

It could be that Hearn is misdirecting, trying to encourage IBF heavyweight champion Dubois not to start fast, knowing Joshua has a weak chin and a history of gassing out quickly against fighters who immediately jump on him.

Hearn needs Joshua to win this fight to keep his career alive, keep him on board as Matchroom’s top money maker, and ensure he gets the Tyson Fury mega-fight with a win rather than just for the payday to come after he was knocked out. by the young lion Dubois.

If Hearn can plant the seeds of doubt in Daniel Dubois’ mind, he might take the wrong approach, helping Joshua win and keep the cash rolling in for Matchroom for a little while longer.

Hearn is quite the sly one, and he’s going to try every trick in the book to get Dubois to fight below his ability on September 21st, because it might be AJ’s only chance. He’s not young – he’ll be close to 35 in October – and has a lot of miles on the odometer.

If Joshua were a car, he’d be pushing 300,000, spewing blue smoke from his tailpipe, and soon ready for the junkyard.

Hearn has done a good job of painting a false picture of Joshua being rebuilt by his hand and the clever work of trainer Ben Davison, but that is not the reality. He was not rebuilt. It’s just the same old smoke and mirrors.

Joshua is two years older since his last loss to Oleksandr Usyk and hasn’t improved one iota. AJ is actually physically and mentally less equipped than he was in his implosion against Usyk in August 2022.

“I think it all comes down to Daniel Dubois. If he comes out like a train, he’s going to be dangerous, but he can also be knocked out in the first round,” Eddie Hearn told the Boxing News. channelgives his analysis of next Saturday’s showdown between Anthony Joshua and IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

No, that’s not how it is. Hearn wants Dubois to start slow because that gives Joshua time to figure him out and line him up for a right hand as we’ve seen in his recent fights against tomato cans Francis Ngannou, Otto Wallin and Robert Helenius.

Joshua does not fight well in furious, non-stop war, where he has to push his bodybuilder body beyond its cardiovascular limits. AJ is at his best when it’s a slow, one punch at a time type of contest, where he has plenty of time to rest between shots.

“If he (Dubois) tries to get into the fight, I don’t know what the tactics will be. I don’t think he’s going to be as aggressive as he was in the Hrgovic fight because Don Charles knows (it won’t be effective),” Hearn said.

I hate to break it to Hearn, but Dubois will fight Joshua just like he did against Filip Hrgovic because Joshua is even older and less equipped for the fight than the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist.

Dubois won’t take it easy on Joshua, fighting him like he’s walking on eggshells, hoping to outbox him in the later rounds or get him out. Dubois will attack him like a hungry shark, feasting on a nice meal in the Pacific, and there’s not much Hearn can do about it. He can then try to pick up the pieces of what is left of Joshua and glue them back together.

“They are smart coaches. AJ is like a sniper. You make one mistake, he turns your lights out,” Hearn said. “So, you have to be a little careful, but maybe they (Team Dubois) just say, ‘This is our best chance. Maybe we’ll just go for it.'”

Joshua’s power is overrated. He has good power, but it’s not out of this world. His biggest drawback is that due to his poor stamina, he is unable to string together his shots in combination form. If Joshua throws more than a handful of shots, he gasses and stays gassed for three to four rounds before getting his second wind.

“AJ and (trainer) Ben (Davison) will be prepared for anything, but it’s a brilliant battle. I think Aj wins by stoppage, but you have a young heavyweight who can hit who is full of energy, but he makes a lot of mistakes. If you make mistakes against Anthony Joshua, the fight is over,” Hearn said, glazing Joshua.

AJ’s trainer, Ben Davison, is not prepared for anything. He can only tell Joshua to throw the right hand and hope for the best. If that doesn’t work, Davison won’t have any answers. It’s just very simple stuff from Ben.

If Joshua is knocked out, don’t be surprised if Davison gets his walking papers, and AJ will look for the next magic genius to come in and pseudo-rebuild him.