A decision as to whether Anthony Joshua would rematch Daniel Dubois in February was taken out of his own hands.
Joshua suffered a brutal defeat at the hands of ‘Dynamite’ who dropped him four times en route to a stoppage in their Wembley Stadium in September.
He immediately suggested he would look to rematch his British rival, and a date had been touted by both fighters’ camps for the pair to meet again on February 22.
But AJ has now been ruled out of the return date, having sustained minor injuries in their meeting, which would prevent him from being ready in time for early 2025.
Although promoter, Eddie Hearn, has since revealed it wasn’t Joshua’s decision, with the team forced to advise him to not accept the fight.
“He wanted to fight on February 22 and basically was told that there was no way you could start camp and be 100 per cent for February 22, physically.
“There’s nothing major. There’s two or three issues that he had a little bit in camp but also after the fight as well.
“And they said you need to come back in May-June and he didn’t want to do it.
“He wanted to fight on February 22 but unfortunately we kind of had to overrule him on this and say no because we can’t afford not to get this right.
“If you get beaten again by Daniel Dubois you have to seriously consider your future.
“We got one last chapter in this career that we need to make sure we get 100 per cent spot on.
“So when he comes back in May or June or whenever that’s gonna be you got to be physically mentally 100 per cent ready. He wants to rematch Daniel so bad.”
