“Anthony Joshua’s Shocking Defeat: The Road to Redemption and What Comes Next”

Anthony Joshua has been issued a ban from boxing following his brutal defeat by Daniel Dubois last week.

The Watford-born fighter was knocked out in the fifth round at Wembley in front of 96,000 fans at Wembley by the 27-year-old domestic rival.

Dubois retained his IBF heavyweight title with an impressive victory, knocking down his challenger four times.

As per protocol, Joshua is now prohibited from stepping into the ring for 28 days, with the British Boxing Board of Control enforcing the rule.

The Association of Boxing Commissions and Combative Sports highlights that it’s standard procedure for fighters to be issued medical suspensions after suffering KO and TKO defeats.

‘That’s why I said we took a shot at success and we came up short. And what does that mean right now?

‘Are we gonna run away? Are we going live to fight another day? And that’s what I am. A warrior’.

Joshua also praised Dubois, saying: ‘We have to give credit to my opponent Daniel.

‘When I sign up to fights, opponents I don’t really like them in my head anymore, but now it’s done, I take my hat off to him and say well done to him and his team.’

Meanwhile, Eddie Hearn initially stated Joshua had a rematch clause to face Dubois again while being interviewed in the ring on Saturday night.

However, he has since confirmed that there is no release clause, and that Joshua instead has one fight remaining on his contract as part of ‘Riyadh Season’, which could be against Dubois.

Speaking to iFLTV, the Matchroom chief revealed that Tyson Fury, Deontay Wilder and a rematch with Dubois are all under consideration.

But given the one-sided nature of his Wembley defeat defeat, Joshua could look to take a different path back to the top and may chase a fight with Fury instead.

Fury is due to have his own rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in December after losing their first fight earlier this year.

Should he win, the Gypsy King could potentially take a voluntary defence against Joshua to finally settle the score with his domestic rival.

Alternatively, another loss to Usyk could leave Fury and Joshua both out of the title picture and free to fight each other in a bid to get back into the mix.

Deontay Wilder is another fighter that has long been linked with facing Joshua, having held the WBC title between 2015 and 2020.

Joshua and Wilder’s teams never managed to agree terms for an undisputed showdown before Fury relieved Wilder of his belt.

Wilder has lost his last two bouts against Joseph Parker and Zhilei Zhang, and turns 39 next month, but is considering a return to the ring and a fight with Joshua could appeal.

• If the fight happens, the winner could set their sights on one final crack at becoming a champion again, while the loser would likely sail off into the sunset.