READY TO RE-ROLL
– should Usyk repeat the outstanding victory he scored in May – the Ukrainian would likely target a unification rematch with Dubois and the path would be clear for a long overdue showdown between the most accomplished British heavyweights of their era. Just how keen the enigmatic Fury would be to quickly jump straight back into such a big fight needs to be considered. And given that Joshua is at his best when he is active, he surely won’t want to risk sitting on the sidelines until next summer. If Joshua bypasses a Dubois rematch but Fury then beats Usyk, where does AJ go? From the outside, choosing the correct path looks like a difficult, layered decision. Privately, Joshua made his feelings plain. “I think [it is complicated] probably for the team, because they’re looking at every option. Look, I’m a business as well as a fighter, so they’re looking at every option business-wise, but I’ve just said that the rematch makes sense,” he said. “Listen, it’s a championship fight. I believe that when it’s all said and done, competing with the best will always hold me in good stead in the long run in terms of records and what I’ve done as a fighter. “No worries for me. But then I think they’re speaking with the Saudis on dates and all that contractual stuff [for the Dubois rematch].” If Joshua is dealing with the devastating loss to Dubois in a pragmatic, matter-of-fact way, it sounds as if he is applying the same attitude to his business side. Part of becoming a great warrior is choosing which battles to fight. For someone who has achieved all that Joshua has, the thought of passing up the opportunity for revenge and hoping to challenge the loser of a fight may not sit well. But at this stage of his career, waiting to see how Fury fares could well be the most sensible choice he could make. “But if I go and knock out Fury,
I would be the greatest thing,” he countered. “It’s just perception and timing. It’s a great opportunity to fight Fury. It’s been one that’s been calling for a long time. “Let’s say that people were to say, ‘Let’s wait until we see who the loser is.’ But if the fight was announced, it would be, ‘This is a megafight.’” Much has been made of the 60 seconds Joshua spent in his corner before being sent out for the fateful fifth round with Dubois. With the words of trainers Ben Davison and Lee Wylie ringing in his ears, Joshua went out to “roll the dice.” Yes, a calm Dubois capitalized on his aggression to land the fight-ending right hand, but, by that point, Joshua had already been dropped three times. The damage was already done. The partnership with Derrick James provided Joshua with a sound platform to rebuild from after his loss to Usyk. He boxed Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius behind a shield, shoulders rolled up. He was solid but – until he uncorked the right hand that separated Helenius from his senses –
Joshua’s fourth pro loss won’t change him into a risk-averse fighter.
unspectacular, and the clamor that the “old A.J” was gone forever began to get louder. In another post-fight moment of clarity, Joshua decided to switch his training operations closer to home and began working with Davison at his Performance Centre in Essex. He loosened up during a patient, cruel dismantling of Otto Wallin and boxed with total freedom when demolishing Francis Ngannou. He tried to use a similarly relaxed style against the rampaging Dubois and paid a heavy price for it. Joshua insists that the opinions of those outside his trusted inner circle played no part in his decision to adopt a more confident approach. The intention was always to return to his aggressive self, but to do so with a little more sense. “Wallin and Ngannou was definitely a different approach. I was with different coaches at the time. Still the same
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