ANTHONY JOSHUA and Daniel Dubois are heading for a Riyadh rematch following their Wembley war.
Dubois sent AJ to the canvas FOUR times on his way to a stunning fifth-round knockout victory.
Talk soon turned to what will be next for Joshua, with a rematch on offer but Tyson Fury also fighting Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.
But his promoter Eddie Hearn revealed AJ is leaning towards a second crack at Dubois and the IBF belt – with a decision now imminent.
Hearn told FightHub: “If it was up to AJ, straight rematch.
“But he will take the advice of me and 258 [Management] and Ben Davison and everybody and then he will make the decision.
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“But it will be a decision that probably comes in the next couple of weeks.”
Usyk, 37, beat Fury, 36, in May to become the first four-belt undisputed heavyweight champion in history.
But he vacated the IBF belt to proceed with the winter rematch as Dubois, 27, was elevated from interim champ.
Joshua, 34, can consider waiting for Fury to fight Usyk to challenge his British rival but he runs the risk of sitting on the sidelines.
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And Hearn revealed Saudi Arabia’s boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh is on board for AJ to rematch Dubois.
But with rerun eyed for February, it would fall under Riyadh Season meaning the rivalry looks likely to head to the Middle East.
Hearn said: “I think it would be part of Riyadh Season in Riyadh. Riyadh Season runs from October to end of February, early March.
“So anything within that period takes place in Riyadh. So yeah, it would be part of Riyadh Season if it were to happen.”
In the aftermath of Joshua’s loss his coaching team led by head trainer Davison came under fire.
But Hearn talked down any threat of Davison being sacked as a result.
He said: “He’s happy. He has to make the changes himself. There was a clear plan of what to do but he didn’t do it.
“And you have to give credit to Daniel Dubois. I don’t think it should just be, ‘Oh, AJ didn’t box well.’ Dubois did really well and hats off to him.
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“But he’s happy with his training camp, he was in great condition, he was sparring really well.
“So, in my opinion there won’t be any changes. He’s got to put it right and he can do it himself.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
