If Anthony Joshua is to have a rematch against his brutal conqueror Daniel Dubois it will not be because of a rematch clause in the contract for Saturday’s first IBF world heavyweight title fight.
Joshua’s hopes – if another shellacking is what he really, really wants – rests in a clause in his actual contract with the Riyadh Season bankrollers of big-time boxing for one more fight under those Saudi Arabian auspices.
Whoever that may be against is up to Turki Alalshikh. Not Team Joshua.
Dubois’ four-knock-down battering of AJ into fifth-round oblivion has turned not only Joshua but heavyweight boxing on its head. As Tyson Fury shouted at ringside as Joshua was counted out: ‘You’ve cost me 150 million.’
The next moves in the cycle of hundreds of millions of dollars depend upon what happens in Fury’s rematch with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk in Riyadh in Christmas week.
Anthony Joshua’s career stands at a crossroads after defeat to Daniel Dubois – but the one thing which is for certain is another Saudi-backed fight
The former two-time world champion was downed in the fifth round by Dubois (right) in an explosive performance at Wembley
Turki Alalshikh has brought some of the best fighters to Saudi and has contracted Joshua for one more clash
If the Gypsy King is beaten by the Ukrainian war hero again, all that will likely be left for the two Brits left in the equation would be to finally engage in their long overdue fight at Wembley.
That would bring them another bonanza at the bank but not one anything like as lucrative as if they both held world titles.
And if Fury triumphs over Usyk, they are expected to head for a trilogy battle.
If not, then a rematch between Usyk and Dubois following Triple D’s contentious defeat in Poland would be a belter at the worldwide box office, not only in the UK.
Behind all that manouevering, the bigger question for Joshua, who will be 35 next month, is would it be wiser to hang up the gloves with his Olympic gold and two world titles legacy intact following his heroics in continuing to rise from the canvas on Saturday.
Tyson Fury (right) was long tipped as Joshua’s next opponent but could yet be bound up in a trilogy with Oleksandr Usyk (left)
That was the first truly heavy beating of his career, one far more damaging than his weird capitulation to the portly Mexican-American Andy Ruiz Jr in his only other stoppage.
Does he really, really need to risk another brain-scrambling battering?
The only arguable reason is the one which is part of American boxing mantra: ‘It’s not the money which matters, it’s only the money.’
