Agency Report
The British Boxing Board of Control has hit Anthony Joshua with a suspension from the squared circle following his devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley.
The two-time heavyweight champion of the world must stay away from the squared circle for 28 days after being brutally folded by his fellow Briton at London’s Wembley Stadium on Sept. 21, the 34-year-old falling to the canvas three times before being knocked out by ‘DDD’ in the fifth with a stiff right hand.
Now, AJ has been banned for just under a month by the British Boxing Board of Control. According to the Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports, it is not unusual for a fighter to receive a medical suspension after suffering a TKO or KO loss.
And while Joshua has no future fights set in stone with a date, it seems incredibly unlikely that the month-long lay-off will impact him. Dubois handed AJ just the fourth loss of his career when they met with the IBF title on the line, his first coming to Andy Ruiz Jr in shocking fashion back in 2019 before Oleksandr Usyk bested him in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
A number of pundits and former boxers have all raised their opinions on what’s next for the Olympic gold medallist, with Carl Froch claiming that he should hang up his gloves. Speaking on his YouTube channel, Froch said: ” Anthony Joshua got absolutely battered from pillar to post.
“He lacked ambition, he lacked self-belief and confidence. His powers of recovery are terrible, he looked exhausted. I question Anthony Joshua’s desire to be in that boxing ring anymore. I don’t think AJ wants it anymore, he shouldn’t be boxing. That performance was weak.
“What next for AJ? I don’t even know. This could be see the last we see of Anthony Joshua. I just can’t see a future for Anthony Joshua.” However, Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn believes that his fighter still has fight left in him. Speaking to iFL TV about options going forward, he explained: “If Fury was to lose maybe they [AJ and Fury] both say ‘Right, let’s give the public one last hurrah, two big fights, done’.
“Or, if Fury wins, he could defend against AJ for the unified world heavyweight title and AJ could beat him and become a three-time heavyweight champion. Anything’s possible. Or we could rematch Daniel Dubois. Or [he] could fight someone else.
” Deontay Wilder. I dunno, it’s not something that’s been discussed yet but two guys coming off defeats, big punchers, someone’s got to go from the sport. But for me the options are rematch Daniel Dubois or wait and see what happens in Fury against Usyk.”
oshua, however, has a rematch clause he can trigger to fight Dubois again and has insisted he is not done yet. “We came up short but we’ve got to look at all the positives,” he said in a video posted to social media. “That’s the mindset and that’s the perspective we’ve got to have; a positive one always. Look at what we’ve achieved in the last 11 years, its phenomenal and I want to thank every single one of you who has been riding with me.
“What a rollercoaster journey, but you know what the problem is, it’s far from over yet. We’ve done it once, we’ve done it twice and doing it a third time hasn’t been easy bit it’s something I can achieve, it’s about making the right steps forward, working hard and improving. It’s got to come from the heart more than anything. It can’t come from any external voices or influences; it’s got to come form the heart.
“It’s only been a day but when I sit back and think, I know I’ve got a lot of heart. Thanks for your support, thanks for being on this rollercoaster journey with me. Keep your seatbelt tight because deep, deep, deep down in here I know I’ve got a lot more to bring to the game and long may it continue.”