Eddie Hearn has criticised Anthony Joshua for not taking more time out following a low blow from Daniel Dubois in their boxing fight at Wembley on Saturday night.
AJ went into the clash as the favourite to reign supreme but, after being floored in four of the five rounds, ended up succumbing to defeat.
The fight was briefly halted when Dubois caught Joshua with a low blow.
Boxing rules allow fighters to take up to five minutes to recover from such a punch but the Watford-born star instead carried on to his peril.
Eddie Hearn has criticised Anthony Joshua for not taking more time out following a low blow from Daniel Dubois in their boxing fight at Wembley on Saturday night
REUTERS
Hearn, speaking after the defeat, has now taken aim at Joshua for that decision.
He says he feels the 34-year-old showed ‘inexperience’, though did express a belief that Joshua’s refusal to stop the fight shows what a brave man he is.
“People always question people’s heart, even the last knockout he’s scrambling to get up, he couldn’t have tried another inch and that’s all you can give to people,” Hearn stated.
“I think when you do that you can look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I might not have been good enough tonight but I’ve tried my nuts off and I gave everything’.
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“I spoke to him last night and he said, ‘I’m ready to go in the trenches tomorrow night’, he went all the way in the trenches.
“People talk about him taking the knee, spitting a gumshield out, listen, when Daniel Dubois hit him in the nuts in the third or fourth round, I’m screaming at AJ to take the full five minutes.
“That’s actually a little bit of inexperience [from Joshua].
“At that point when he couldn’t stand up, he’s been hit full blown in the conkers, all he’s got to do to the ref is [say] but that’s not him.
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“He just went to the ref, ‘I’m fine, come on, let’s go’.
“I’m like, ‘no, no, what are you doing?’. And then it happened again because he just came to fight tonight.
“When you talk about entertainment, maybe vulnerability, but also a huge puncher who’s prepared to let his hands go.
“It was a hell of a fight, hell of a fight, and as gutted as we are Daniel deserves a lot of credit because tonight was his crowning night.
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Eddie Hearn has insisted he’s ‘proud’ of Anthony Joshua despite his defeat to Daniel Dubois
REUTERS
“Not being elevated to interim champion, tonight was the night I believe he became a real world champion.”
Some boxing fans believe now is the right time for Joshua to retire. Yet Hearn says the Briton will instead go for a rematch.
“I’m sure he’ll [Anthony Joshua] exercise that rematch clause, that’s a given,” he said.
“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.”
Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua will go for a rematch with Daniel Dubois
REUTERS
On where it went wrong, he added: “It was the first round, after that he was fighting on heart and desire.
“I’m so proud because he never gave up, his legs were deceiving him and he kept on trying.
“When you are in there with a massive puncher this is what can happen. He never stopped trying to get up, even when he couldn’t get up.
“Daniel deserves credit, he’s a real world champion. Congratulations to him.”