AN immediate rematch with Daniel Dubois would mark the end of Anthony Joshua’s career, claims Carl Froch.
The former super-middleweight champion, 47, watched as Joshua was beaten by Dubois via a brutal fifth-round knockout at Wembley Stadium last Saturday.
Since his defeat, defiant AJ has revealed that he will not retire.
He then met with promoter Eddie Hearn and Saudi Arabia boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh to discuss his future.
Hearn, 45, went on to reveal that Joshua is set to rematch Dubois, with Alalshikh keen for the fight to happen.
Froch, however, believes that this would be a bad move for Joshua’s future prospects.
Speaking on his Froch on Fighting YouTube channel, he said: “There’s talks now of an immediate rematch with Daniel Dubois.
“I think Eddie Hearn’s keen to chuck him straight back in there, because obviously Anthony Joshua is Eddie’s big cash cow, let’s be honest.
“He’s back in the driving seat if AJ can rectify that run. But for me, I think that’s a bad fight.
“An immediate rematch, Daniel Dubois is licking his lips, saying ‘I wasn’t happy with my performance, I think I can finish Anthony Joshua even earlier’.
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“And he will come confident. First fight he went in he wasn’t sure if he belonged there.
“He’d been elevated to IBF champion after beating (Filip) Hrgovic, so does he belong at world level?
“Now he knows he belongs at world level, he knows what he can do to Anthony Joshua when he clips him on the chin.
“An immediate rematch, for me, is the end of Anthony Joshua’s career, and I don’t think that should be happening.”
On what he would advise Joshua to do, Froch added: “Then you’ve got to look down the ladder and see who’s next.
“You’ve got (Martin) Bakole, you’ve got Zhilei Zhang, big puncher – you’ve got Joseph Parker who’s on a bit of a crest of a wave after his Deontay Wilder win.
“They’re three fights there, those opponents would be going against Anthony Joshua really sticking it on him – and if he loses to one of them that’s definitely the end of him – even more so than if he gets flattened again by Dubois.”
Froch then went on to mention Dillian Whyte as another possibility, before raising a different option altogether.
“Maybe the smart move is to sit back and wait, and not fight, see how the landscape changes, see what happens with Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.”
Froch claimed that if the Gypsy King were to lose to Usyk again when they rematch on December 21, that he could be the opponent for Joshua.
He added that the bout would surely provide another big Wembley pay day, before AJ could “sail off into the sunset”.
ANTHONY JOSHUA bravely picked himself up from the floor against Daniel Dubois – until he could no more.
AJ was floored four times in five rounds by Dubois before a thudding counter right closed the show in dramatic fashion.
Here, SunSport’s Jack Figg takes you round-by-round from the Wembley war.
ROUND 1
Dubois comes out sharp with the jab as Joshua bounces around struggling to deal with the piston-like left.
Huge right hand from Dubois has AJ staggering backwards with his hands far too low from the opening bell.
Joshua made to pay for the mistake as he circles out with his hands down and gets dropped by an overhand right.
ROUND 2
Joshua – saved only by the bell after being floored – struggles to get going as he takes shots to the face.
AJ is tottering and teetering around the ring with his guard again dangerously low and inviting pressure on.
Joshua is attempting to get back into the bout but his jab looks far too lazy – he doesn’t look to have recovered from the knockdown.
ROUND 3
AJ comes out with more intent but swings wildly with a right and connects with only thin air.
Dubois pours on the pressure and hammers Joshua into the corner scoring another knockdown.
The bell sounds but Dubois lands one or two afterwards – again AJ is saved by the clock as the writing looks on the wall.
ROUND 4
Disaster strikes again with Joshua floored once more – losing his balance as he touches the canvas.
The referee gives AJ another fighting chance and Dubois lands a low blow – giving the challenger some valuable respite.
Dubois slows down as four rounds come to a close with Joshua showing sensational resilience to hang in there.
ROUND 5
Joshua lands a huge right hand and Dubois legs buckle – an astonishing turnaround looks to be on the cards.
AJ pins Dubois onto the ropes and attempts one of his signature uppercuts but the countering right hand gets there first.
Joshua is caught flush on the chin, dropped once more and this time out for good. Dubois scores a stunning KO win.
