The proposed Anthony Joshua coronation soon turned to a night of despair for the two-time world champion, his team and his backers as Daniel Dubois stamped his authority onto both his domestic rivals and the heavyweight division as a whole with a show-stopping knockout against Great Britain’s long-standing poster boy.
However, ‘AJ’ has now confirmed that his time in the ring is not over yet and as a result there are already names being touted for his next outing and William Hill have now released their odds for whom his next opponent may be.
1. Daniel Dubois – Evens
After Joshua suffered a shock defeat to a third opponent of his career, the immediate assumption was that he would once again force a second meeting with his rival, as he did with both Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk following those other shortcomings. As expected, Eddie Hearn confirmed that there was a rematch clause in the fight contract and that he expects his man to trigger it, but Dubois’ promoter Frank Warren has since suggested otherwise – thrusting what was originally an inevitable rematch into doubt, although it remains as the most likely outcome.
Defeats are no longer a new experience for Joshua but the brutal manner of the damning loss to ‘Triple D’ presents him with a new mental obstacle to overcome – this being the first time he was truly knocked out and not halted on his feet. That fresh hurdle could act as motivation for Joshua and whet his appetite or it could convince him to steer clear of a man who could simply be his hard-hitting kryptonite.
2. Deontay Wilder – 4/1
The one that got away. Hopes of Deontay Wilder seemed dead once ‘The Bronze Bomber’ was trumped in back-to-back outings against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang – not just losing but failing to come close in either contest. Like Joshua, Wilder has refused to hang up the gloves and with both men coming into what was recently deemed as ‘the biggest fight in boxing’ off of the back of defeats, the long-awaited encounter would be seen in a different light but would be a captivating one nonetheless.
A below-par Wilder could represent the perfect route back to the forefront of the division for ‘AJ’ and tick off a name that has long been on both his and Hearn’s hit-list. Yet, the fearsome punch power of the American could also be a recipe for disaster.
3. Tyson Fury – 5/1
Tyson Fury fumed that Dubois’ demolition of Joshua had cost him £150 million shortly after his promotional stablemate had been declared the victor but that may not prove to be the case. Eddie Hearn has maintained that the illusive all-British dust-up could still happen despite the Saturday night blow out, alluding to a similar scenario to that of the possible Wilder clash mentioned above.
‘The Gypsy King’ is scheduled to meet with unified world champion Oleksandr Usyk in December in the sequel to what was an instant classic earlier in the 2024 calendar but he will step through the ropes as the underdog and will find himself on a two-fight winless streak if he cannot crack the code of the pound-for-pound number one.
The Fury-Joshua rivalry will never truly be settled until a victor is resolved and a grudge match could ensure either in the United Kingdom or Saudi Arabia could be around the corner if Fury is unable to reclaim the heavyweight marbles later this year.
4. Jarrell Miller – 10/1
Joshua’s rivalries with both Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury are ones that are often glorified and encouraged by the masses to season what would already be a salivating event. Jarrell Miller on the other hand, is a rival that is truly hated by ‘AJ’ on a personal level.
‘Big Baby’ Miller was poised to take on the Briton and after an intense build-up, it was clear to see that the loudmouthed American had brought a different side out of Joshua than the polished professional that we have become accustomed to – instead Joshua simply wanted to take his head off and silence the New Yorker for good.
Unfortunately, the then lauded knockout artist that was a rising Anthony Joshua never got the opportunity to put his pitiless plan into action as Miller failed a drugs test and faced a four-year ban from the sport. Meanwhile, Joshua moved on and was matched with Andy Ruiz Jr. – becoming the victim of one of boxing’s most famous upset wins.
Miller has now served his ban and his back boxing on the big stage, putting up a respectable display in a defeat to Dubois that has aged like a fine wine and then controversially drawing with Ruiz, with many viewers feeling as though he had done enough to get his hand raised. Eddie Hearn has previously ruled out the prospect of staging Joshua-Miller but now that fight could be the best option to rebuild his fighter.
5. Manuel Charr – 12/1
Finally, Syrian-German Manuel Charr has long called for the opportunity to face Joshua and was named as Regular heavyweight world champion in an eyebrow-raising move from the WBA – considering Charr has not fought since 2022 and just thrice since 2017. Still, with a unified title contest on the horizon, it is likely that belts will be vacated during 2025 either through a lack of interest in fighting mandatory challengers or through retirements, leaving Charr well poised for an unlikely title shot.
As a result, Joshua may opt to challenge for Charr’s WBA (Regular) strap in the hopes of being upgraded to world champion shortly afterwards or to position himself for a vacant title fight against heavyweight bogeyman Martin Bakole, who is ranked as the number one contender with the sanctioning body.
All will likely become clear within the next few weeks as further details surrounding a possible rematch between Joshua and Dubois are confirmed but it has been revealed that ‘AJ’ is not ready to walk away from the sport just yet, in spite of the uphill battle that he faces if he desires to mount a return to the heavyweight throne.
Other Options:
Michael Hunter – 10/1
Filip Hrgovic – 10/1
Joseph Parker II – 14/1
Andy Ruiz Jr. III – 14/1
Zhilei Zhang – 16/1
Martin Bakole – 16/1
Derek Chisora – 16/1
Jared Anderson – 20/1
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