Anthony Joshua next fight announced immediately after Daniel Dubois defeat

Anthony Joshua lost to Daniel Dubois at Wembley after a fifth-round knockout, but the English duo will soon meet again for a rematch, promoter Eddie Hearn has seemingly confirmed

Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn is 'sure' that the Briton will opt for a rematch against Daniel Dubois, following Joshua's knockout in their recent clash at Wembley Stadium.

At 34, Joshua was floored in the fifth round of the all-English bout, missing out on the IBF heavyweight world title. Despite the setback, possibilities are ripe for the former champion to take on his 27 year old rival once more.

As the massive crowd of 96,000 at the national arena looked on, Matchroom Boxing's chairman Hearn commented from the ring: "I am sure he'll exercise that rematch clause. I think that's a given.

"But he'll need a rest and it's a dangerous fight. This guy [Dubois] is growing in confidence all the time but he'll believe he can hurt Dubois. He'll believe he can beat him. But full credit to Daniel Dubois, he deserves all the credit tonight, it was a great performance from Daniel."

By contrast, Frank Warren, who manages Dubois, has set his sights on a match-up with Oleksandr Usyk, who is poised to face Tyson Fury in their second showdown this December. "Oleksandr Usyk is considered to be at the moment the best heavyweight in the world and he gave him at that time his toughest fight, there's no doubt about that," stated Warren, reports the Mirror.

"He hurt him [during their first fight in 2023]. I'd like to see him fight him now - but obviously he's got to fight Tyson [Fury] first and I think that Tyson will take his scalp."

"Everybody here seen a champion's performance tonight. Two great fighters in the ring, and a champion's performance. And I think he's done everything that's been asked of him."

"He's showed his courage, showed his skills, his resilience. AJ caught him with a shot over there and I was worried about that. But he caught him with a counter and that's what it was. What a fabulous, fantastic fight by both the guys."

And who does Dubois fancy?

"Maybe Usyk, a big shot at my redemption. Anyone... anyone can get it," he declared. "I've just been on a rollercoaster ride. This is my time, this is my redemption story and I'm not going to stop until I reach my full potential."

Reflecting on the fourth defeat of his professional career, Joshua was asked what went wrong for him. "The opponent," the two-time former world champion admitted. "Credit to him and his team, we rolled the dice at success and we come up short."

"But I want to say everyone at Wembley, I appreciate you coming out this evening. You know I'm p*****, you know I'm ready to kick off in the ring but I'm going to keep my cool and keep very professional and give the respect to my opponent."