Joshua Is A “Soldier,” Should Take Dubois Rematch – Jai Opetaia

Jai Opetaia feels Anthony Joshua is a “soldier” and should take the rematch with IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Opetaia says that’s what he would do.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

If Joshua takes Opetaia’s advice, his career could be turned around with a second brutal knockout loss to Dubois. AJ was knocked clean by the young lion. It’s risky for him to take a rematch right away rather than face a non-puncher next.

Joshua’s situation is slightly different to that of 29-year-old IBF cruiserweight champion Opetaia as he is not as young and would be facing a fighter who destroyed him in five rounds last month in a one-sided fight in the Wembley Stadium on September 21.

AJ turns 35 on October 15, and he has plenty of rough street miles from his 11-year professional career. He is not in his prime like Opetaia, and fights in a weak division like the cruiserweight division. The Australian fighter has a good thing about competing in his division because he doesn’t have to worry like Joshua does.

“Why don’t you want to take the rematch? If I were him, I would take the rematch. Why not?” said Jai Opetaia Second salt when asked if Anthony Joshua should take the rematch against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois.

It’s hard to take Opetaia seriously when he says he’d take a rematch if he was in a similar situation to Joshua. Would he really choose to fight someone who knocked him out like AJ was? I don’t think he would if it meant losing his career and money opportunities.

“It’s heavyweight boxing; anything can happen. Go in there. You know AJ, he’s a trooper. He never backs down from a challenge. He always works very hard and ticks every box going into a fight. He is a machine. So, why not?” Opetaia said.

Joshua has always trained hard and came into his fights in good shape. That doesn’t mean he can take the hard head shots that the younger heavyweights like Dubois are going to hit him with. This is the real problem. Joshua is like a car that has been fixed, but the engine is shot.

“It’s great for boxing. It opened up the heavyweight division even more,” Opetaia said of Dubois’ upset of Joshua. “There is another big name in boxing. AJ is such a big name without a world title. You have Daniel Dubois, who built himself up.”

It’s not great for the heavyweight division that Dubois’ star has risen while Joshua’s has imploded. That’s not good because Dubois is never going to be the kind of star that Joshua was. As long as Joshua can keep plugging away for another three to four years, it is positive that Dubois has become one of the big names.

“He is only 27 years old; that’s crazy You look at the mistakes he made. He was only young. It’s all been a rollercoaster to where he is now, and it’s made the world of boxing more exciting. I respect AJ, and I respect Dubois,” Opetaia said.

Jai Opetaia will defend his IBF cruiserweight title against Jack Massey on October 12 on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The event will be shown live on DAZN PPV. Opetaia received criticism from fans for choosing to defend against Massey rather than one of the talented contenders in the division. Massey is not considered a compelling opponent for Opetaia compared to fighters such as Chris Billiam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez. However, the cruiserweight division is weak, and there is not much talent available. So Opetaia is a champion rather than a contender.