Anthony Joshua faced calls to retire at 35-years-old in the wake of his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois.
The Olympic Gold Medalist and two-time world heavyweight champion had built up some solid wins ahead of fighting the 27-year-old in front of a record-breaking Wembley Stadium.
However, it was young lion Dubois who took control of the contest from the off, imposing himself on the more experienced man and scoring a knockdown in the first round that would shape the fight entirely – something ‘AJ’ could never really come back from.
Despite fighting on valiantly, picking himself up off the canvas again and even having success of his own, Joshua was put down for good in the fifth, his dreams of becoming a three-time titlist severely wounded as Dubois legitimised his status as champion.
One man who knows all about fighting for belts at the national stadium is Frank Bruno, who took to social media post-fight to give his thoughts.
“I am disappointed I missed a classic fight which I have now watched 3 times. AJ sadly did not come to the table and Daniel made a meal of him. AJ’s trainers will now have to analyse where mistakes were made. As AJ and his team lost not just AJ.”
Bruno – who beat Oliver McCall at Wembley to become WBC Champion at the fourth time of asking back in 1995 – then addressed the calls for Joshua to hang up the gloves, which have come from some big names in the sport like Carl Froch and Bob Arum.
“Should he retire? No, if he is healthy and wants to carry on and trust me I would think a different AJ will now come out for the next fight. But lets not forget Daniel and his team what a job and they should be very proud. Also British heavyweight boxing proved last night it is the best in the world!”
‘AJ’ has confirmed he will fight on, though his team took an immediate rematch with Dubois off the table. The champ now defends his belt against Joseph Parker on February 22.
It’s understood Joshua is awaiting the outcome of Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk later this month for the rest of the titles before he makes a decision on his next move.
