Boxing promoter Bob Arum has warned Anthony Joshua that a second bout with Daniel Dubois would be the ‘worst thing’ for him.
AJ was crushed inside just five rounds last month, with the 34-year-old losing to his fellow Briton at a packed-out Wembley Stadium.
Joshua had gone into the contest as the favourite after his emphatic victory over Francis Ngannou back in March.
Yet Dubois put on a masterclass in the capital, with the 27-year-old flooring his opponent multiple times before finally getting the job done in the fifth round.
Arum, speaking to Yardbreaker, has now ripped into the Watford-born star.
The boxing promoter has criticised Joshua, insisting he ‘never thought he was a great fighter’.
And he also feels that AJ will be making a huge mistake if he chooses to battle Dubois in a rematch.
“I’ve always been high on Dubois,” he said.
“I’ve never been high on Joshua, but I never thought he was a great fighter, particularly after the Andy Ruiz fight [in 2019].
“Again, it didn’t surprise me. I think Joshua is very, very vulnerable.
“The worst thing for him would be to fight Dubois again.”
Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have both indicated they’d be up for a second showdown with Dubois.
But whether that takes place remains to be seen, with Joshua still potentially set to fight Tyson Fury by the time he retires from the sport.
Arum’s comments come just over a week after he said AJ’s career was over.
He feels the defeat to Dubois can’t be attributed to an ‘off night’.
And Arum also thinks Joshua should fight Deontay Wilder, another man he believes isn’t as good as before.
He told FightHub: “No, you don’t have an off night getting the s*** kicked out of you that way.
“I just think AJ has been through a lot of wars. And I think it’s over for him as well as over for Wilder.
“Maybe they can fight each other, that’d be good.”
Joshua has won 28 of his 32 career fights so far, with 25 of those victories coming via knockout.
The boxing star, who is currently suspended until October 19, has lost to the likes of Andy Ruiz Jr, Oleksandr Usyk (twice) and Dubois.
Another loss could all but end his career.
