After confirmation that Anthony Joshua will not rematch Daniel Dubois in February due to picking up an injury, his promoter Eddie Hearn has now revealed the specifics of the injury.
Joshua was demolished on September 21st by Dubois in front of a record Wembley crowd.
He was knocked down four times and the fight was stopped in the fifth round.
Despite failing to join an exclusive club of heavyweights to become three-time champion, it was expected that he would have the opportunity again by rematching his opponent straight away.
However, it was revealed that he was injured and would be unable to be ready for a proposed February date.
Now his promoter Eddie Hearn, speaking to The Stomping Ground, has shed light on why Joshua cannot make this date.
“There’s no major injury. Every fighter has niggles in camp, especially when you’re a heavyweight who trains every day and spars really hard.”
“There’s nothing that’s going to be a long-term problem. For a turnaround after a five or six-week break after a defeat like that, it’s just not possible to be a hundred percent.”
“That’s all. There’s no tear in the bicep, there’s just wear-and-tear that means he cannot go into a training camp with the same intensity that he would want to.”
Eddie Hearn has said that there is no major injury to Joshua, however due to the manor of the defeat, his body needs longer to recover than it normally would.
Moreover, ‘AJ’ is 35 years old, therefore fights are likely to take more out of him than they would have a few years ago.
For Daniel Dubois, this fight solidified his status as IBF heavyweight champion after he previously was granted the title following Oleksandr Uysk being forced to vacate.
The champion is set to return to the ring in the first quarter of 2025, with the likes of Zhilei Zhang, Joseph Parker, and Martin Bakole being mentioned as potential opponents.
For Joshua, he will most likely be ready by the summer when the rematch could take place or we could finally see the greatly anticipated clash against Tyson Fury.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.