Promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua will want another “massive fight” after the former two-time heavyweight champion vowed to continue despite shocking defeat to Daniel Dubois on Saturday in London.

Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) repeatedly knocked Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) down at Wembley Stadium before finally landing a powerful right hook in the fifth round that sent his English rival to the mat, handing him the fourth loss of his career. Dubois defended his IBF belt.

Joshua appeared at the post-fight press conference and assured that he will continue fighting.

“You’re probably asking, ‘Do I still want to fight?’ Of course I want to keep fighting,” Joshua said.

“That’s what I said, that we tried to succeed and we failed. What does that mean now? Are we going to run away? [Or] Will we live to fight another day?

Dubois charged forward and caught his opponent off guard, landing a powerful left hook that dropped Joshua for the first time slow in Round 1, capping a near-perfect opening that stunned the Wembley crowd – and Joshua.

“We also have to give credit to our opponent, Daniel. Congratulations to him and his team, and thanks to my team for the way they prepared for me. There were a few mistakes there, but that’s the nature of the game,” Joshua said. “Tiny margins can cost you a lot at the highest level.”

Hearn stated in the ring that the rematch clause would likely be activated, but explained at the post-fight press conference that Joshua had signed a deal to fight next season in Riyadh and would likely want a rematch.

Hearn said Joshua is keen to take part in critical fights to finish his career and that another pre-fight fight is unlikely.

“We have another fight with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh and Daniel Dubois are part of that plan, but it could easily be Tyson Fury or another heavyweight,” Hearn said. “I don’t think it’s a career-ending fight for him, but he’s in the final chapters of his career and it was a massive blow because we wanted to win tonight and fight the winner of Fury and [Oleksandr] Usyk.

“I know he’s going to want a massive fight, I don’t think he’s going to want to come back in February or March for a round, Helenius or Franklin or those types of fights. I feel like we’ve done that and the next decision is going to be very critical.”

Eddie Hearn believes the second fight between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois will be another highlight of the season in Riyadh after they exercised their rematch clause.

There will be many fans interested in watching the Joshua-Dubois rematch because they will want to see if AJ can avenge his loss. Of course, some fans will want to see if Dubois can retire Joshua with a second knockout.

That’s what makes the rematch intriguing and likely to generate massive PPV numbers. Hearn hasn’t said anything about whether Joshua will exercise his rematch clause immediately or wait until he faces Tyson Fury. That’s the fight the public wants to see.

Joshua (28-4, 23 KOs) will be off until the end of the year following his fifth-round knockout loss to IBF heavyweight champion Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) before returning in 2025.

Hearn likes the effort Joshua put in after being hurt in the first round and getting back up in the fourth and fifth. However, by then Joshua was already “damaged goods” and his punch resistance evaporated after the first round.

“He never stopped trying to land those massive punches to knock Dubois out, even when he had no legs, and that’s unbelievable heart,” Eddie Hearn told Stomping Grounds about Anthony Joshua still trying to win, even though he has been in impoverished form since the first round.

Joshua didn’t land many rights in the fight because he looked cautious and had too much muscle in his arms. AJ should have been leaner and more aggressive in this fight. The passive fighting didn’t work for him and it allowed Dubois to gain confidence. If Joshua had hurt Dubois early, it would have discouraged him from throwing.

“You saw him saying, ‘Come on,’ and he was waiting for him and he was waving with his chin up,” Hearn continued of Joshua. “People have criticized AJ in the past for not letting go of his hands. He let go of his hands at the worst possible times.”

Joshua didn’t land many punches in either round; there were a few in the third and fourth, but not enough to hurt Dubois as he should have. He made a massive deal about sending Dubois back to his corner after the fourth, but he didn’t do much in that round.

“I said, ‘You must be proud of yourself because it couldn’t have gotten any worse, and you never stopped trying to get back up.’ Even when he finally couldn’t get back up. [fifth round]trying to get up. Every time he got knocked down, he looked straight at the referee, ‘I’m fine.’ He kept calling for Dubois,” Hearn said.

Joshua put on a brave face when he was knocked down, but you could see he was worried and knew the fight wasn’t going well for him.

“When he came back into the fight and started hurting Dubois, he was already banged up and had been castrated,” Hearn said.

Joshua should have used his jab to set Dubois up for a right hook after he staggered him in the fifth. He had already hurt him. and didn’t need to unload a risky right hook on him.

“We’ll be respectful because I don’t think it’s fair, Daniel, but we have another fight with Riyadh, a season that we can practice. I believe AJ will want it to be Daniel Dubois.

“He felt like he was coming back into the fight,” Hearn said of Joshua, who believed he was gathering strength in the fourth and fifth rounds. “I spoke to him at length last night and he was really prepared to go into the trenches. He told me, ‘I’m really prepared to do whatever it takes,’ and he never stopped trying.”

If Joshua was grave about going to the trenches, he should have thrown more punches because he didn’t throw enough punches to give himself a chance to win the fight. If he could have thrown 40 to 50 punches a round, he would have won easily. He didn’t and seemed to be worried about gas.

“It was strenuous to watch at times in the second and third rounds. He never stopped hanging on, he never stopped swinging, and we should be proud of him for that performance.

“No, I don’t think so,” Hearn said when asked if there was a chance Joshua would retire after the loss. “He was in great shape. He just got caught so early. He didn’t really have a chance to get in the fight, but even under the circumstances he almost found a way to come back.

“So he’ll be devastated, he’ll feel sorry for himself and he’ll miss the rest of the year and then we’ll see him back in 2025,” Hearn said.

Joshua could have had a much better fight and has some regrets. As he takes the rest of the year off, Joshua will have to dwell on his defeat.

JOSH KELLY will hopefully fight for a world title instead of fighting Liam Smith again.

Smith was due to face Kelly on Saturday night as part of the Riyadh series at Wembley Stadium but withdrew due to a virus.

The Liverpool fighter’s slow replacement was “Black Panther” Ishmael Davis, whom Kelly defeated by a majority decision on points (115-113, 115-114, 114-114), which stunned the winner and his team.

Saturday night’s fight took place at middleweight, but Kelly is currently ranked second by the WBO and fifth by the IBF in the super welterweight division.

Kelly’s trainer Adam Booth spoke to him at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night and dismissed any ideas of a confrontation with Smith.

“That’s in the past,” Booth said. “Wasted months on this. World title or the massive fight (next).”

Booth, who has trained fighters including David Haye, George Groves and Michael Conlan, also shared his feelings on Kelly-Davis’ results.

“I scored it 9-3. I’m just disappointed with what the judges did. Winning is the most significant thing and you move on, but when judges do that to fighters, it can destroy their careers because you know perfectly well that if you win, the payouts go up and if you lose, they go down.”