ANTHONY Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn believes the team could land a rematch with Daniel Dubois despite last night’s one-sided match at Wembley Stadium.

Finally, a perfect miniature right hook put Joshua to bed and stunned the 96,000-strong crowd after five rounds of thrilling brutality. AJ was knocked down several times and appeared to be on his feet before the final blow.

Still, Eddie Hearn somehow found plenty of optimism, pointing to Joshua’s heart and guts in defeat. Joshua even seemed on the verge of a surprising breakthrough seconds before he went to bed.

While Dubois’ power and punching power have never been in question, his own resilience has been questioned in the past following tough losses to Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk. No one can question Daniel’s courage or his status as a legitimate world champion after adding the biggest name of his career to the list.

“All credit goes to Daniel Dubois, he deserves it, it was a great performance,” said Eddie Hearn after the highlight reel.

Hearn added that he expects his fighter to exercise his rematch clause after a period of rest.

“[He’s] “I’m still gaining confidence,” Hearn added, which is a bit odd given Joshua’s long career and experience in large fights.

Joshua’s talk often revolves around learning curves, gaining knowledge, and coming back stronger, wrapped in false philosophical statements. For many years, AJ was seen as an overthinker.

Daniel Dubois didn’t give him much time to think last night, and there was nothing to suggest his return would be much different.

Nelson Oliva’s first fight at 154 pounds was a success.

Oliva defeated Alfonso Olvera on Saturday night at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, Calif. The scores were 79-73, 79-73 and 78-74 for Oliva, who improved to 12-0 with 8 knockouts.

Olvera was in form and won the first round, but Oliva was the more effective and right fighter for the rest of the fight. The left-handed Oliva outboxed Olvera from range or from the interior, landing left hooks or counters to the head many times.

Every time the taller Olvera tried to launch an attack, Oliva reversed the momentum back toward him, putting him on the defensive with a two-punch combination. Oliva clearly won the fight, but trainer Henry Ramirez felt Oliva could have fought a more fluid and complete fight.

“(Nelson) was very torpid today, but (he gained) a lot of experience,” Ramirez said after the fight.

In his previous fight on March 30, Oliva, who grew up in Los Angeles, defeated Franyerson Puerta by unanimous decision. On November 4, Oliva scored a one-sided victory over Dario Guerrero-Meneses.

All three of Oliva’s fights over the past year have taken place at Thunder Studios. Oliva has fought under the Thompson Boxing Promotions and CBN Promotions banners since making his professional debut in February 2021.

The 28-year-old is trained by Henry Ramirez.

Olvera, who is from Nogales, Mexico, and currently resides in Tucson, Arizona, is coming off a 13-9-3, 5 KO loss. In his previous fight on May 13 of last year, Olvera knocked out Ousmane Sylla.

Prior to his win over Sylla, the 34-year-old had lost two consecutive fights in an 11-month span to Quinton Randall and Delonte Johnson.

In a clash of undefeated junior featherweights, Hector Lopez defeated Noah Contreras via majority decision. One judge scored the fight 57-57, while the other two judges scored it 60-54 and 58-56 for Lopez, who improved to 6-0, 4 KOs.

After two solid exchanges in the first two rounds, Lopez began to take control of the ring, outboxing Contreras in the middle rounds. Contreras switched to a left-handed style, which played to Lopez’s advantage, stunning Contreras on several occasions.

Even from a distance, Lopez landed the more effective combinations as Contreras landed the punches in the final two rounds.

Contreras, who lives in Fort Mohave, Arizona, is coming off a 9-1, 4 KO loss.

In the junior flyweight bout, amateur standout Terry Washington of San Bernardino made his pro debut by knocking out Ezequiel Robles (1-2) of Tepic, Mexico in the first round.

Halfway through the first round, Robles attempted a two-punch combination that missed. Washington responded with a left-right combination followed by a left hook that knocked Robles down. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. counted Robles out at 1:55.

Washington was recently named the “Most Outstanding Boxer” at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.

In lightweight action, Eric Mondragon improved to 11-1, 4 KOs by defeating veteran Jose Valenzuela (3-16-1, 2 KOs) of Puebla, Mexico, by unanimous decision. The scores were 59-55, 59-55, and 58-56 for Mondragon, who lives in nearby Maywood.

Middleweight contender Blazen Rocili won by second-round knockout after Selim Martinez (6-8, 2 KOs) of Matamoros, Mexico, opted not to continue. Rocili, who hails from Waipahu, Hawaii, and currently trains in Las Vegas, improved to 7-0, 6 KOs.

In the first fight of the CBN Promotions card, featherweight Kenario Davidson stopped Gurjant Singh (2-1, 1 KO) of India in the third round to earn a decision victory. The scores were 38-37, 38-37, and 39-36 for Davidson, who was making his pro debut.