Anthony Joshua may get the chance to fight Daniel Dubois again in a rematch thanks to a little-known clause he could activate.
Joshua was beaten devastatingly on Saturday night, succumbing to a fifth-round knockout defeat against Dubois.
The two-time world champion was knocked down in the first round with a brutal right hand to the chin, resulting in one of the best photos of the year, and never truly recovered.
Dubois dominated in the ring and despite staging a mini-comeback in the fourth and fifth, Joshua was caught once again in the fifth round as he walked into a trap set by his opponent, who landed a powerful right hand to send AJ to the canvas, just moments after concerning footage of Joshua emerged online.
Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois fight contains little-known clause that could force rematch
Following victory at Wembley Stadium, Dubois could now wait to fight the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk vs Tyson Fury rematch in December.
Both were there to witness the action, with Fury left stunned by Dubois’ emphatic performance.
Hard-hitting heavyweight Zhilei Zhang has also called out Dubois, opening up the possibility of the 27-year-old attempting to defend his IBF heavyweight title for a second time before having a crack at becoming the unified champion.
However, a third option could be a rematch with Joshua.
Eddie Hearn revealed after the fight that there was a release clause in the contract, which he believes Joshua will trigger.
He told DAZN: “I’m sure he’ll [Anthony Joshua] exercise that rematch clause, that’s a given.
“He’ll need a rest but it’s a dangerous fight, this guy’s growing in confidence all the time but he’ll believe he can hurt Dubois, he’ll believe he can beat him but full credit to Daniel Dubois, he deserves all the credit tonight.”
His claim contradicts the one of his promotional counterpart, and Dubois’ representative Frank Warren, who suggested the next aim would be to fight Usyk or Fury.
Challengers rarely have release clauses inserted into their fight negotiations, but given the scale of the fight, that may have been overruled.
Who will Anthony Joshua fight next?
After suffering defeat for the fourth time in his professional career, Joshua is now at a crossroads.
Aged 34, there have been some calls for him to retire from the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, but Hearn is hopeful that Joshua and Fury will face each other after previously revealing that there is a deadline for Joshua vs Fury to take place.
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He told BBC Sport: “I do think AJ-Fury will happen regardless of whether Fury wins or not, but the size of the fight depends on their next two results.
“If AJ beats Dubois and Fury beats Usyk, you’ve got the biggest fight in the history of the sport ever. If one loses and the other wins, it’s still a monster fight.”