Anthony Joshua was beaten in a fifth-round knockout by fellow Brit Daniel Dubois in September but has passed up the opportunity of an immediate rematch as he plans his next move.

Wisely, Anthony Joshua passed up the immediate rematch with Daniel Dubois. If I were him I’d stop period.

Anthony Joshua needs to think carefully about his next steps in boxing.

I know that sounds harsh, but it’s a belief sincerely held. I very much like Joshua. He has been great for the game and is a genuinely decent guy. But the magic has gone and he will only get dragged into scraps now. That’s what happens when you begin to lose your edge.

He has a great reputation. Why tarnish it further? He came back to win the world title a second time. Not many have done that. Since too few recognise that it’s time to go I don’t expect him to heed my advice. They are talking about him coming back in the summer, beating a couple of saucepans then taking on Dubois again.

Why will the outcome be different next time? He can’t take a shot like he did ten years ago, but the people around him won’t tell him that. Dubois is the hardest puncher in the heavyweight division, a modern Sonny Liston but bigger and slicker.

He is mean and nasty in the ring. He really wants to hurt you. There is nothing subtle about him outside of the ring either. It’s boxing or nothing for him. You can’t say that of Joshua, who has always had one eye on business.

The more you see him now the more you realise just how that first defeat to Andy Ruiz became career defining. He was on the verge of blowing Ruiz away when he was caught, and it altered his direction of travel forever.

It not only exposed a physical weakness, it opened a psychological flaw alongside it. In the space of 20 seconds, from having Ruiz on the verge of oblivion he was suddenly on the ragged edge himself, and unable to recover.

He might still beat 85 per cent of the guys out there but the good ones will find him. If they can bang they are in with a chance. Everyone can see that now.

Dubois is going to be around for a while. It will be interesting to see if he fights Oleksandr Usyk again. Dubois is clearly improving and has a genuine chance of success if he meets Usyk a second time. And if Joshua should pass his way again, the end will come even sooner. Dubois knows it and, I suspect, Joshua does too.