Anthony Joshua's Ex-Trainer Delivers Blunt Verdict on AJ's Future: "He's Still Got It"

Anthony Joshua's boxing career took an unexpected turn this past weekend at Wembley. The 34-year-old challenger suffered his fourth career defeat when Daniel Dubois, the IBF world heavyweight champion, knocked him out in the fifth round.

The fight started with a bang. Dubois landed a huge right hand in the first round, sending Joshua to the canvas. Over the next three rounds, Joshua hit the mat two more times. The heavy favorite found himself in serious trouble.

In the fifth round, Joshua seemed to turn things around. He had Dubois hurt and went for the finish. But as he attempted an uppercut, he left his chin exposed. Dubois capitalized on this mistake and landed the final blow, knocking Joshua out cold.

Robert Garcia, Joshua's former trainer, shared his thoughts on the fight with ESNEWS:

"That was a crazy fight. I thought he was going to knock that guy [Dubois] out, I thought he was going to become champion again, I really believed that, I would never have thought he would get beat like that."

Garcia reflected on Joshua's recent performances, saying:

"All those fights he has last year and start of this year with good wins and knockouts, the rhythm was there, I really thought he was going to become world champion again and then fight the winner of Usyk versus Fury."

Analyzing the crucial moment in the fight, Garcia explained:

"He almost had Dubois out, he caught him but he made the mistake of leaning with the uppercut and leaving his chin out, it happens in boxing."

Despite this setback, Joshua has announced his intention to continue boxing. Garcia believes retirement isn't necessary and suggests some big fights are still on the table:

"No [he shouldn't retire]! The Fury fight is still a huge fight for him. Even if Fury loses to Usyk again they fight each other in England and that's huge, they could sell 200,000 tickets if they fight each other."

Garcia also mentioned another potential matchup:

"Another big fight for Anthony is Wilder also. That's two huge fights no matter what happened in their last fights, Fury and Wilder, both fights are huge for Joshua in England. He can still win those fights because he's got great power."

Joshua's promoter, Eddie Hearn, has also floated the idea of a rematch with Dubois. With these options on the table, it's clear that despite this setback, Joshua's career in the ring is far from over.