Chisora, Bakole, Miller: Who could Anthony Joshua face in ‘carefully’ chosen comeback fight?

One of the most stunning dominations in recent boxing heavyweight history went down Saturday in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley in London, England when Daniel Dubois got the better of Anthony Joshua en route to a signature victory.

Dubois hurt Joshua early in the first round of the IBF title showdown, and the result seemed inevitable from there. Joshua attempted to keep pushing through multiple knockdowns, but then finally got put down and out for the final time in the fifth round of the headlining act.

The combat sports community was following along closely with the match, and you can check out the top reactions from the fight below.

Former World Champion Calls Out Anthony Joshua For Long Awaited Fight: “Let’s Get It On”

A former long-reigning world heavyweight champion is targeting a showdown with Anthony Joshua.

Joshua has not fought since he suffered a devastating fifth round knockout defeat to countryman Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September in his attempt to become a three-time heavyweight champion.

It has been confirmed in recent weeks that the 35-year-old from Watford will make his return to the ring before the end of the year, with an official date and opponent expected to be announced in due course.

One man that could face Joshua in his return is former WBC world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, who is also coming off a brutal knockout loss to China’s Zhilei ‘Big Bang’ Zhang.

In an interview with Inside Boxing Live, Wilder said that he would welcome a potential showdown with ‘AJ’ in the near future.

“I’m in it to win it. The heavyweight division is a small division so all of us can fight six, seven times because it’s so small. I’m in it to fight whoever, whenever, wherever. I’m a fighter. I have a fighter mentality. I have a king mentality. I don’t shy away from fights.

“As long as he’s in the division and I’m in the division, I’m always willing to fight whoever no matter what the situation is.”

‘The Bronze Bomber’ followed this up with one final message for Joshua.

“Let’s get it on.”

Anthony Joshua coach finally explains controversial ‘roll the dice’ order in Daniel Dubois loss

Joshua was dropped four times by Dubois and stopped in the fifth round in September

Anthony Joshua’s coach Ben Davison has finally explained the controversial order to “roll the dice” in September’s defeat by Daniel Dubois.

In a packed-out Wembley Stadium, Dubois dropped his fellow Briton four times and sealed a fifth-round stoppage, retaining the IBF heavyweight title in the process.

Joshua, 35, has not fought since. While the former champion recovers from elbow surgery and considers shoulder treatment, 27-year-old Dubois is preparing to face unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.

That bout will take place on 19 July at Wembley, where Dubois dealt Joshua a brutal KO in the fifth round, after “AJ”’s corner gave a surprising order after the fourth frame.

With Joshua having been dropped once in each of the first, third and fourth rounds, many observers felt that the Olympic gold medalist needed to use the fifth round to recover. If successful, Joshua could perhaps have sought a finish later in the fight, yet Davison and his team encouraged Joshua to “roll the dice”.

Many fans and pundits interpreted that messaging as Davison and co urging Joshua to take an unnecessary risk. However, Davison has suggested it was a specific reference to a combination: a double-jab and right uppercut.

Responding to an observation made by Dubois’s ex-coach Shane McGuigan on commentary, Davison told Talksport: “It didn’t [play out as McGuigan predicted], though. He’s saying that Daniel’s putting a right hand behind the double. So, he’s saying Daniel Dubois throws a double-jab then a right [straight].

“He would be 100 per cent correct; Daniel was throwing that throughout the fight. We’ve asked AJ to throw a double-jab and bring it up the middle. Daniel was defending AJ’s right hand by ducking underneath it; therefore, if he’s ducking underneath your right hand, the correct adjustment is to let him dip onto the right uppercut.

“‘Roll the dice’ is like… that was something that he’d worked on throughout camp: double-jab, bring it up the middle. Because against [Filip] Hrgovic, again, he was so often – sorry, let me finish… He was regularly getting underneath Hrgovic’s right hand.

“Hrgovic then started to throw an uppercut but wasn’t bringing his feet in to be close enough to deliver the shot.” Hrgovic caught Dubois with many right straights last June, before the Briton turned the tide and scored a TKO, with a ringside doctor recommending that the referee should halt the bout.

Moments before Dubois landed his knockout blow on Joshua, AJ appeared to stun the younger boxer, before seemingly over-committing to an attempt to finish the fight. In the ensuing exchange, Dubois dropped Joshua for the final time, rendering AJ unable to beat the referee’s count.

Dubois was next scheduled to defend the IBF belt against Joseph Parker in February but withdrew on two days’ notice, citing illness. Parker went on to knock out Martin Bakole in two rounds.

While Parker’s next move is unclear, as is Joshua’s, Dubois now bids for revenge against Usyk, who recovered from a controversial low blow to stop him in 2023. Dubois’s team appealed the result, saying his low blow was in fact a legal body shot, but the appeal failed.

Joshua has been linked with numerous potential opponents since losing to Dubois. A long-awaited fight against Tyson Fury has been mooted, although the latter claimed in January that he has retired from boxing – not for the first time. Meanwhile, a rematch with old rival Dillian Whyte was recently mentioned, only for Whyte to sign to face Moses Itauma.

Anthony Joshua was very late to his fight with Daniel Dubois, but trainer Ben Davison refuses to blame it for the loss.

Joshua suffered a devastating KO defeat to British rival Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September.

AJ was favourite to win the fight, and the boxing fraternity have come up with many theories to try and explain his defeat.

One of those is that Joshua already looked uncomfortable during his incredible ring walk just moments before the fight unfolded.

But Davison, in an exclusive appearance on talkBOXING, explained that preparations were far from ideal.

He revealed that pre-fight preparations were a rush as a result of logistical struggles, but insisted there were no excuses over the defeat.

The renowned coach said: “This isn’t an excuse, he’s never mentioned it and it’s not the reason we lost.

“He was very very late arriving to the dressing room before the fight for unforeseen circumstances.

“It was a major rush which wasn’t ideal. Maybe that had an impact on his ring walk, I can’t say yes or no.

“Again it’s not an excuse, but if what you guys were seeing is true, maybe the fact he was late then that didn’t help.

“The fights before we had an extremely long warm-up, this time it was the complete opposite.

“But this time it was a big rush, although it wasn’t why he lost.”

Joshua ultimately succumbed to a KO defeat, with Dubois letting his heavy hands go.

The former two-time champion looked to be coming back into the contest in a strong fifth round after a difficult start.

But after trading shots with Dubois, he was left slumped to the canvas and it ended his hopes of becoming a three-time world champion.

He has yet to step back in the ring since, having had elbow surgery which has set back his return date.

It is hoped that he will return in the final quarter of 2025, with some big fights still available.

Joshua wanted to face bitter rival Tyson Fury, but for now the ‘Gypsy King’ is retired.

Eyes from his camp could also be on the undisputed title rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Dubois on July 19.

And Davison believes a discussion will need to be held over his next move, but he is open to going straight for glory again.

He continued: “I’m not a massive fan of the ‘everybody needs activity’.

“It’s not ideal after the injury, it’s hard to say the likes of Deontay Wilder is a tune-up fight.

“There are discussions that would need to happen, but his goal is to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.”

Anthony Joshua has not fought since he was wiped out by Daniel Dubois last September – but is eyeing a return to the ring later this year

Carl Froch has told Anthony Joshua to avoid a rematch with Daniel Dubois like the plague.

Joshua was knocked out in devastating fashion by his fellow Brit at Wembley last September as Dubois retained his heavyweight world title with a fifth-round stoppage. Joshua turned down the opportunity to immediately avenge his defeat and recently had surgery on his elbow which has delayed his return to the gym.

Dubois will fight for the first time since last autumn when he rematches Oleksandr Usyk at the national stadium next month as he attempts to avenge his stoppage defeat by the Ukrainian two years ago. Joshua, meanwhile, is targeting a return later this year – potentially against Tyson Fury if his fellow Brit reverses his decision to retire.

And Joshua has been advised to forget any desire he has to run back his clash with Dubois. “Another fight with Daniel Dubois, forget it, Daniel Dubois, f***ing flattens him again,” Froch said on his YouTube channel. “He can’t beat Daniel Dubois, he will be frightened to death of getting hit on the chin, and when he does, he will be rendered unconscious again.”

Joshua has been coy about his next fight as Fury continues to insist he will remain retired having hung up his gloves in January following his second successive defeat by Usyk. Joshua has also been linked with a rematch with Dillian Whyte but he may instead take on rising star Moses Itauma in August.

And Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed the Olympic champion could hang up his gloves as soon as next year. Hearn believes taking on long-term rival Fury is the one thing left for Joshua to do before calling it a day. “Probably 2026 will be his last year in the sport,” Hearn said on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“I mean you never know, but thinking about it, it’s probably three fights away. If I’m advising AJ I’m thinking, ‘We’re back this year, two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?’. He maybe could fight a Daniel Dubois, but I think for me, once AJ fights a Tyson Fury, he’s kind of done it all.

“I’d love him to have another crack at Dubois, I’d love him to have another crack at (Oleksandr) Usyk. If we get to 2026 and he’s firing on all cylinders then 2026 won’t be his last year. But for me, something feels right about beating Tyson Fury twice and then sailing off into the sunset.”