Carl Froch believes Anthony Joshua should avoid a rematch with Daniel Dubois and instead target a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.
Fury was ringside as Joshua was suffered a brutal fifth round knockout loss to Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
As well as enduring arguably the most damaging loss of his 32-fight career, the Watford man missed out on his bid to become a three-time heavyweight world champion, with Dubois successfully defending his IBF crown for the first time.
The 34-year-old’s promoter, Eddie Hearn has advised him to see how the rematch between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury plays out on December 21, before making a decision on his next fight, a view Froch shares.
“An immediate rematch for me is the end of Anthony Joshua’s career and I don’t think that should be happening,” the 47-year-old said on Froch On Fighting.
“So that begs the question, what next for Anthony Joshua?
“He’s in a really tight spot, a really sticky situation.
“If I’m managing him or if I’m his trainer, I’m going to say no to the immediate rematch straight away.
“Maybe the smart move is to sit back and wait and not fight.
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“See how the landscape changes. See what happens with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
“Maybe if he loses to Usyk again, then maybe that’s the fight for him, because that’s the big fight.
“That’ll be another Wembley fight.
“That’ll be a fight that everyone will want to see. It’s still interesting.
“Alright they’ve both lost and obviously it’s going to be a bit late and they’re both going to be losers, but it’s still a fight that people are going to want to see.
“A little bit like Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather or Kell Brook-Amir Khan.”
‘AJ’ insisted his career was not over when he addressed the media in his post-fight press conference and confirmed his intentions to continue in a video posted on his social media on Monday.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion was floored four times and stopped for just the second time in his career, his first defeat since losing the rematch to Usyk in August 2022.
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“What a rollercoaster journey, but you know what the problem is, it’s far from over yet,” Joshua said.
“We’ve done it once, we’ve done it twice and doing it a third time hasn’t been easy bit it’s something I can achieve, it’s about making the right steps forward, working hard and improving.
“It’s got to come from the heart more than anything.
“It can’t come from any external voices or influences, it’s got to come form the heart.”
