Daniel Dubois remains the leading candidate to face Anthony Joshua in his next bout, despite Joshua’s team evaluating five different opponents, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
“Daniel Dubois still (is the frontrunner). In an ideal world, he will fight Fury, if not Dubois,” Hearn told talkSPORT while discussing Joshua’s return to the ring.
The 35-year-old Joshua has not fought since his defeat to Dubois in November, a setback that halted his quest to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. Initially, a highly anticipated showdown with Tyson Fury seemed to be on the cards, but those plans collapsed when Fury announced his retirement in January.
With Fury yet to reconsider his retirement, Hearn revealed that Joshua’s camp is weighing several alternatives, including a potential rematch with Dubois. The 27-year-old was originally scheduled to fight Joseph Parker in February but withdrew due to illness.
“There is also Joseph Parker, who I think would be a great fight, there is Agit Kabayel and Deontay Wilder, obviously (Turki Alalshikh) has stated he would love to see that fight,” Hearn explained.
“I guess the (Martin) Bakole fight is still there, but he would probably get criticised if he fought Bakole, so less likely.”
Joshua previously turned down an immediate rematch with Dubois, with his camp citing a lack of preparation time and injury concerns as reasons for delaying the fight. This decision has sparked mixed reactions, with former British boxing star Amir Khan supporting Joshua’s choice.
“I don’t think he should have taken that re-match. It’s the best choice he’s made,” Khan recently told Prime Casino.
“You always have that one opponent who is always going to be the bogeyman, who is always going to beat the style that AJ has, and I think that is Dubois. He was punch perfect when I saw that fight,” Khan added.
Despite this, Khan acknowledged that a second fight between the two might be inevitable.
“I think he made the right choice by not taking it now but in the future it’s still a fight. And even if he never fights him again, he tried, it happened, we’re all prize fighters and at this time he can make money elsewhere with an easier opponent,” he said.
Meanwhile, one of Joshua’s potential rivals, Parker, 33, recently stopped late replacement Bakole in the first round after Dubois withdrew. Kabayel, 32, also impressed on the same night, securing the WBC interim title with a victory over Zhilei Zhang.
Former WBC titleholder Wilder, 39, remains an option for Joshua despite suffering back-to-back defeats to Parker and Zhang. The American is reportedly plotting a return to the ring and has also been linked to a possible showdown with former UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
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