Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua has overcome his fear of losing as he aims to become undisputed world heavyweight champion next year.
Joshua battles for Daniel Dubois’ IBF title at Wembley Stadium on September 21, with the goal of facing the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s rematch in December.
A British record 96,000 people are expected to watch the 34-year-old become a three-time world champion later this month, as he continues his comeback after losing to Andy Ruiz and twice to Usyk.
Hearn feels those events have changed Joshua’s mindset, and given his four-bout winning streak and history of stadium fights, there are concerns about how underdog Dubois will handle the scale of the occasion.
“I get the impression that the dread of losing has subsided. Because of the Ruiz and Usyk defeats, you’ve been there, witnessed it, and understand how much it hurts,” the Matchroom promoter remarked.
“We don’t look at this fight and say the pressure is on because if you lose against Dubois, what would happen? We’re just thrilled about the fight.
Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois clash at Wembley on September 21 (Jordan Pettit/PA)
“AJ’s having a great camp, he’s working well with (trainer) Ben Davison and is firing on all cylinders.
“No fear of losing. At this stage he takes on all challengers and this one just happens to have a world championship attached to him.
“It’s a dangerous fight and it will be really interesting to see if Dubois can handle the pressure because I know he boxed against Usyk in Poland, but this is going to be a moment that makes his knees knock.
“You need to have not just a big set of bollocks, but also a really strong mind to compose yourself in those moments. Whatever the gameplan is, I think he’ll struggle to adopt it in there.”
Apart from an important change in mindset, Hearn believes Joshua is benefiting from the tactical nous of Davison and his assistant Lee Wylie, who have been in place for his impressive victories over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
“The best way to describe it with AJ is that when he understands the gameplan, he’s really, really good and really effective,” he said.
When AJ saw first-hand what @DynamiteDubois is capable of 👀🍿#JoshuaDubois | 21.09.24 | #RiyadhSeasonCard: Wembley Edition | @turkialalshik pic.twitter.com/nzdq42qe3L
— Queensberry Promotions (@Queensberry) September 1, 2024
“It’s about the way you deliver that gameplan to him. In the Usyk fight, and maybe the Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius fights too, he just didn’t have that clarity.
“He’s a very bright guy and you can’t bluff him as a trainer. If he’s not ready or comfortable in the gameplan, he won’t be as effective.
“When he fully gets the gameplan and when it’s fully drilled, we think he’s unbeatable. And that’s how we feel at the moment.
“With all due respect to Dubois, he makes mistakes and he’s not a difficult fighter to work out.
“He’s very strong, can punch and he’s physically a problem, but when you analyse a fighter like that it’s not hard for the minds of Ben Davison and Lee Wylie to figure out the gameplan.”
