Anthony Joshua double whammy

It doesn’t rain, it pours for Olympic gold-winning Anthony Joshua who was knocked out in the 5th against defending heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Now, he’s been banned too.

The British Boxing Board of Control has just slapped the once heavyweight champion holder with a 4-week ban following his knock-out defeat against Daniel Dubois. The ban comes into effect due to the fact that Joshua was brutally knocked out. For medical reasons, the boxing board demands the Watford-born boxer keep out of the ring until he’s fully recovered.

Nonetheless, some pundits are saying that it’s time Joshua hung up his gloves. Carl Froch said on his YouTube channel that Joshua, ‘got absolutely battered from pillar to post’ because he ‘lacked ambition, self-belief and confidence’ and took a beating in all five rounds.

‘You get clocked sometimes’, Conor McGregor on Anthony Joshua

Not everyone agrees. Conor McGregor, for one, thinks ‘You get clocked sometimes. Of course he can come back, for sure.’ While Boxing chief, Eddie Hearn, believes that Joshua ‘still has fight left in him.’

Dubois delivered Joshua the fourth loss of his career when they met for the IBF title bout. The first was in 2019 at the fist of Andy Ruiz Jr and then twice from Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.

Going forward, what’s next for Anthony Joshua? He is said to want a rematch against Dubois in 2025, but it will depend on who comes out top in the matches among Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, and Daniel Dubois over the coming months.