Anthony Joshua made two-word comment after Oleksandr Usyk KO'd Daniel Dubois
Anthony Joshua hinted at regret after watching Oleksandr Usyk knock out Daniel Dubois.
Dubois was dropped twice and stopped in the fifth round by Usyk at Wembley on Saturday night, 10 months after Dubois knocked out Joshua in the same session at the same venue. In defeating the Brit for a second time, Usyk was again crowned the undisputed heavyweight world champion.
Joshua has not fought since last September but is expected to return later this year. And asked by The Stomping Ground if he had contacted Joshua after Usyk's win, promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed he had told his fighter: "We should have beaten Dubois," to which Joshua replied simply: "I know".
Joshua has yet to announce an opponent for his return to the ring but momentum has swung behind a fight with YouTuber Jake Paul who recently outpointed Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
Paul was at ringside at Wembley to see Usyk remain undefeated and faced off with the Ukrainian after the final bell as he chases an MMA fight with the 38-year-old. But his focus is on a clash with Joshua - and Paul has targeted the national stadium as host venue.
"It's going to happen, it's going to happen," Paul told talkSPORT. "I want it to happen here (Wembley). All the odds stacked against me. I believe that I will beat him and shock the world and create one of the biggest upsets in boxing history."
And Hearn revealed he plans further discussions with Nakisa Bidarian, CEO of Paul's Most Valuable Promotions company. "It sounds like Anthony Joshua is going to fight Jake Paul," added Hearn. "If he is true to his word, if he really wants the fight... the fight will happen.
"I can't believe... its great that Tyson Fury is saying Jake Paul is going to win... maybe I've lost my mind. If they truly want the fight, I'm going to speak to Nakisa next week, we can make the fight that does the biggest numbers in the sport. Forget Canelo vs Crawford, it doesn't touch the surface of AJ against Jake Paul.
"If you want to do the biggest numbers in the sport, we will make it happen, but be careful what you wish for. This ain't a game, this ain't a YouTube video, this isn't numbers or algorithms, this is physically dangerous. But if you want to do it, we'll do it. I'm not going to argue about it, I'm just telling Jake Paul this is real and he has to understand the consequences that come with a fight like this."
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