Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois came face-to-face for the first time since their shocking fight at Wembley Stadium.
The heavyweight duo went to war at the UK’s national stadium back in September in what was supposed to be Joshua’s return to world title glory for a third run. However, Dubois hadn’t read the script and he thundered home with a fifth round KO that left his rival face-down on the floor.
Now, Dubois is set to defend against former champion Joseph Parker, while Joshua’s plans for a ring return are unknown. Tyson Fury remains the favorite option, while Martin Bakole also became a front runner last night as the pair faced off.
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois have awkward run-in at Ring Magazine awards
Last night in London, The Ring Magazine held a gala dinner and awards ceremony to celebrate the publications end of year awards. Boxing’s most renowned news outlet was recently bought out by Saudi Arabian supremo Turki Alalsheikh, and they splashed out for a plush black tie reception.
Anthony Joshua was one of the guests of honor, and had posted beforehand that he planned to run into his long-time rival Tyson Fury. However, in actual fact he ended up next to Daniel Dubois, which led to an awkward encounter.
Joshua appeared to be towering over Dubois as they shared a few kind words, which were hastily captured by DAZN cameras. It’s hard to gauge what was said, but the pair appeared cordial as the former champion appeared to be leading the conversation.
Fans in the comment section appeared to become body language experts, with many claiming that the ex-champion was ‘puffing out his chest’ next to Dubois. However, others seemed to think he looked keen for a rematch.
Joshua also ran into his other former foe Oleksandr Usyk during the night, with the pair sharing a tense but ultimately friendly moment.
Daniel Dubois and Anthony Joshua never had rematch clause after first fight
While there was a belief that Joshua would immediately activate a rematch clause to face Dubois again, he appears to now be heading down a different route. And it appears that there never even was such a contractual stipulation, according to the champion’s promoter Frank Warren.
“There was no rematch clause,” Warren told Ayman Khan of Seconds Out in a lengthy interview this week. However, he quickly noted that the door remains open to an AJ vs Dubois 2 super-fight despite there not being a legal obligation.
“There was no rematch clause but when he kept saying that he wanted it, so if he wants it, he can have it – but there was no rematch clause [for that fight].”