Grapevine

By Punch
Sep 28, 2024

‘Joshua close to retirement’

In a candid conversation with Joshua after the brutal defeat, Hearn revealed he told the boxer he may have only one to three fights left in his career.

Speaking to Charlie Parson of The Stomping Ground, Hearn said, “I said to AJ on the phone you’ve probably got between one and three fights left. Then it went a bit quiet. He kind of realised, blimey, we’re on the home straight. We really are.”

Despite the loss, Hearn confirmed that a rematch clause exists, and Joshua is likely to activate it soon.

The promoter is confident that Joshua, who is contracted to at least one more fight with the Saudis, will pursue the rematch with Dubois.

However, given the one-sided nature of Saturday’s fight, Joshua could explore other options to regain his position at the top of the heavyweight division.