Eddie Hearn has insisted Anthony Joshua is ready for another big fight despite a devastating KO loss to Daniel Dubois.
After reeling off four straight wins, Joshua went into battle with Dubois last month as an overwhelming betting favorite.
The fight offered the 35-year-old a chance to join an elite group of fighters who have held the heavyweight title three times, and was held at Wembley in front of a record crowd of 96,000 fans.
But ultimately, Joshua was stopped in the fifth round for the second time in his professional career, with Dubois dropping him several times before securing the KO to become IBF champion.
However, despite the defeat, Hearn insisted AJ is ready to return for another showdown against Dubois, or even a highly anticipated fight with Tyson Fury.
Eddie Hearn has claimed Anthony Joshua is ready to step back into another world title fight
Joshua suffered the fourth defeat of his career when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois last month
But Hearn insisted his fighter has no interest in a warm-up fight as he looks forward to a return
“It’s strange to say it after a knockout defeat, but AJ is actually in a really good position,” Hearn said. BBC Sports.
‘We’re going to fight Dubois or Fury now. That’s it. No other interest or warm-up.’
Reports after the fight suggested Joshua would activate his rematch clause, with a possible date of February in Saudi Arabia.
While Queensberry boss Frank Warren has claimed that Dubois is likely to make the first defense of his title on that date regardless of opponent, Hearn admitted that ‘timing’ could prove to be an issue in making the rematch.
He added: ‘AJ desperately wants revenge but the only problem is the timing.’
‘In order for the rematch to take place in February, training camp has to start in a few weeks. There are always niggles and he had a few, so physically it’s just a matter of whether AJ is ready.”
A clash between AJ and Fury could also be on the card depending on the outcome of The Gypsy King’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in December.
Hearn appeared to indicate he would be in favor of a fight with Fury for Joshua if Fury can avenge his first career defeat to the Ukrainian in their rematch.
The Matchroom head added that Joshua’s next opponent could depend on the rematch between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk
Should Fury emerge victorious, Hearn indicated a highly anticipated clash between the Gypsy King and AJ would take place in May next year.
“It would be frustrating if we got the Dubois rematch and Fury won,” Hearn said.
‘Then we sit there and say, ‘Wait a minute, we’re fighting Dubois, but we could have fought Fury in May for the biggest fight in boxing.’
“Win or lose, we can fight Fury next summer. But if he wins, AJ will fight him for the world title.”
