..AJ held talks over his future just days after the brutal KO
…ANTHONY JOSHUA is heading for a rematch with Daniel Dubois.
AJ’s career was left hanging in the balance after being knocked out in five rounds by Dubois in front of a British-record 98,000 fans.
But Joshua spoke out in the aftermath to insist this is not the end of the road in a defiant snub to retirement.
He has one contracted fight left with Saudi Arabia boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season.
Joshua met with promoter Eddie Hearn and Alalshikh to map out his future just days after being brutally KO’d.
And Hearn revealed all parties are on board for a blockbuster rematch.
He said talkSPORT: “Rematch clauses come in many different forms.
“We have a fight with Riyadh Season. One of our options is to fight Daniel Dubois again, and our contract is with them.
“His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] will deal with Frank and Daniel and make that fight happen. The terms will have to be agreed with them.
“We have already agreed our terms, we have the option to rematch with Dubois.
“Our meetings with His Excellency, he wants the rematch. AJ will always want the rematch.
“Daniel wants the rematch too it’s the biggest fight for him and they will fancy it.
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“It is a case of going away and talking about, do we go straight into the rematch? And when will it be?
“It was a heavy night at the office, we aren’t going back to fight in 10-12 weeks, he needs his rest and time to recover.”
Tyson Fury, 36, rematches Oleksandr Usyk, 37, on December 21 following his win in May.
Fury was in line for a stunning two-fight deal with AJ and moaned at losing out on £150m following Dubois’ shock KO.
Hearn revealed how Joshua, 34, could still fight Fury next no matter the result against Usyk.
And Dubois, 27, was also considering waiting out on Usyk to rematch the Ukrainian after his ninth-round stoppage loss last year.
But his promoter Frank Warren opened the door to a rematch with AJ which could be set for February.
Warren told TNT Sport: “I’m not against that at all. That’s not an open door for me, I’ll take the door off the hinges and we’ll do it.
“That fight is there. If they want it, they’ve got it, have it in a heartbeat. His next fight will be in February.
“That’s when he’ll fight next, and we will work out who that’s going to be in the next week or two weeks.”
The Sun (UK)
