Joshua was enjoying his best form in years until recently. Since back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, AJ had rebounded with four victories. Those wins were becoming steadily more impressive too.
A decision victory over Jermaine Franklin was workmanlike, but AJ showed flashes of his old self as he ground down Robert Helenius in seven rounds. By the time he walloped Otto Wallin in five rounds and Francis Ngannou, fresh off giving Tyson Fury fits, in two sessions he looked back to his best.
But Dubois undid over a year of good work in August, when he demolished Joshua at Wembley. The five-round pounding was the most comprehensive loss ever suffered by AJ. Ruiz had shocked him, Usyk had outboxed him but ‘Dynamite’ simply detonated him.
But still, you don’t spend a decade at the top of the sport and deliver some of the biggest nights in modern memory without wielding significant bargaining power. AJ might be coming off a humbling defeat, but there remains huge interest in his next move.
For a while, it looked like Joshua would stick to the habit of a lifetime and rematch Dubois immediately. The Watford man has always attempted to avenge his defeats. Joshua beat Andy Ruiz Jr in a rematch six months after the Mexican inflicted his first career loss. AJ also went straight back in with Usyk after that loss, albeit losing the return.
