Prince Naseem Hamed wants to see Anthony Joshua go back on his words and walk away from boxing for good following his shock defeat to Daniel Dubois.
Joshua was the heavy favourite going into Saturday’s IBF heavyweight title bout, but Dubois pulled off a huge upset.
The 27-year-old dropped his more experienced compatriot multiple times before stopping him with a brutal right hook in the fifth round.
It’s Joshua’s fourth loss in his last 10 fights with questions now being raised on where the 34-year-old can go next.
Anthony Joshua was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in the fifth round
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He had been on the comeback trail after losing his heavyweight belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2022.
Joshua does have the option to trigger a rematch clause against Dubois and has hinted that he will activate it.
That would likely have a knock-on effect for a proposed mega fight with Tyson Fury in 2025.
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But Prince Naseem, who was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2015, doesn’t think Joshua should step back into the ring due to the manner of his latest loss.
“Whether he can or he can’t, I’d prefer him not to,” he told IFL TV.
“He’s had his day in the sun like we all have.
“He’s done great, he won amazing world titles, he’s defended them, he’s earned his dough.
“Listen, he should bow out gracefully and that’s it, done.
“Because when he gets hit on the chin – we don’t want to talk about that right now.”
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn fully expects his fighter to continue boxing with his sights on a rematch with Dubois.
Eddie Hearn insists Anthony Joshua has no plans to retire
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“I think he [Joshua] will exercise that rematch clause, I think that’s a given,” he said.
“He’ll need a rest and it’s a dangerous fight, this guy is growing in confidence all the time.
“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, it was a great performance.”
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Prince Naseem Hamed wants to see Anthony Joshua walk away
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However, Hearn later suggested that Joshua could overlook the rematch with Dubois and turn his attention to Fury.
“We have another fight with Riyadh Season and Turki Alalshikh and Daniel Dubois is part of that plan, but so too could be Tyson Fury or another heavyweight,” said Hearn.
“I think that 2025 is going to be an interesting year for Anthony Joshua, one way or another, but he will definitely be back and whether it’s against Daniel Dubois, Tyson Fury, whoever, you’re going to be entertained.”