Eddie Hearn, the promoter of Anthony Joshua, has ruled out the possibility of Wembley Stadium hosting a potential rematch between Joshua and Daniel Dubois.
Despite Joshua’s desire for an immediate rematch following his stunning fifth-round knockout loss to Dubois in their IBF world heavyweight title bout, a return to Wembley seems unlikely.
The all-British clash last month drew a record-breaking post-war boxing crowd of over 98,000 fans at Wembley. However, Joshua, who has never fought consecutive bouts at the iconic stadium, is not expected to break that trend.
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Dubois is also unlikely to face Joshua at Wembley again, as Hearn hinted that the rematch would most likely take place in Saudi Arabia, shifting the venue away from London for this highly anticipated fight.
“I think it would be part of Riyadh Season in Riyadh,” Hearn told Fight Hub TV.
“Riyadh Season runs from October to the end of February or early March, so anything within that period, the rematch would take place in Riyadh. So yeah, it would be part of Riyadh Season if it happens.”
However, Hearn stressed that a rematch is not a certainty at this stage. “The big decision now is—do we take the rematch?” Hearn said.
“There’s a keenness from His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] to make that rematch in February; it’s part of our options within the contract. I think AJ will always lean toward the rematch.
“You saw him rematch Andy Ruiz straight away, and you saw him rematch Oleksandr Usyk straight away.”
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