The Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois rematch is set to be one of the hotly anticipated fights of 2025.
Many felt that their encounter in September would be an easy victory for AJ as he rebuilt towards another shot at the undisputed world heavyweight title.
But the devastating manner of how Dubois emerged victorious has led to many intriguing factors in the rematch.
Will another defeat end the career of Anthony Joshua?
Would another Dubois victory take him on to a shot at Oleksandr Usyk?
Is a rubber match on the cards if Joshua wins?
The options are intriguing.
One thing that we know for sure is that all angles point to a rematch.
Just this past weekend, Turki Alalshikh confirmed the date that he wants for the Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois rematch.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to happen on that date.
To ensure that it happens within a specific timeframe, the International Boxing Federation (IBF) have set a deadline for the fight to happen.
Why are the IBF setting a deadline?
That’s because Daniel Dubois is the current IBF world heavyweight champion.
As IBF champion, Dubois has a mandatory fight that is due on June 21 2025.
He needs to have concluded any optional defences at least 60 days prior to that date.
That means that April 22 2025 is the last date that the Joshua fight could happen.
So the clock is ticking on getting all the ducks in a row for any potential fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
With April being a way away yet, it’s likely that the fight will be announced and scheduled way before that date.
If we take the word of Turki Alalshikh, then we’re looking at February.
At the very least, however, we know that the rematch cannot go any longer than the stipulated April deadline.
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