Eddie Hearn reveals potentially major issue he’ll have over Anthony Joshua’s next fight after brutal Dubois KO loss

EDDIE HEARN has all but admitted he could end up being powerless when it comes to deciding Anthony Joshua’s next fight.

AJ is at a career crossroads following the brutal fifth-round KO defeat he suffered to Daniel Dubois at Wembley last month.

The Watford warrior, who was dropped FOUR TIMES in the domestic dust-up, has suggested that he wants an immediate shot at redemption.

And promoter Hearn admits he’ll be hard-pressed to convince the 34-year-old to put a revenge job on ‘Triple D’ on the backburner.

The Matchroom Boxing chief told Sky Sports: “When you start actually thinking about it, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to make.

“I know that he is leaning towards the rematch.

“Because he wants to win the world heavyweight title – versus fighting [Deontay] Wilder [or] waiting for [Tyson] Fury.

“And then you’ve got all next year bubbling around, not really fighting for the world heavyweight title.

“If it’s solely down to AJ, which it will be at the end of the day, I think it’s going to be very hard to talk him out of taking the rematch.”

IBF heavyweight king Dubois is open to a money-spinning rematch, telling SecondsOut: “We’re making plans for what we’re gonna do now.

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“I’ve heard AJ wants the rematch. We’ll see. If he wants it, I want it, too.

“We came out on top on the night, I was the better man on the night, but there’s no disrespect.

“I’m not gonna badmouth him or anything. It was a great fight and if we can do it again, it’ll be even bigger.”

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua has faced strong calls to retire following his dismantling at the hands of Dubois.

But the London 2012 gold medallists insists he won’t be hanging up his gloves any time soon.

In his post-fight interview, he said: “Before I came here, I’m always saying to myself, ‘I’m a fighter for life.’

“We rolled the dice at success and we came up short and we roll it again. We keep rolling the dice.”

AJ added a few days later: “We came up short. But we have to look at all the positives.

“That’s the mindset and the perspective we have to have. Look what we have achieved in 11 years, it’s phenomenal.

“I want to thank every single one of you who has been riding with me.

“What a rollercoaster journey – and you know what the problem is?

“It’s far from over yet.”

Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk