Saunders tips Joshua to become three-time heavyweight champion

Former two-weight world champion, Billy Saunders, has backed Anthony Joshua to become a three-time heavyweight champion despite his devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Joshua, who suffered his fourth career defeat after being knocked to the canvas three times before a fifth-round stoppage by Dubois, has since been advised to retire from the sport.

However, Saunders, speaking with iFL TV, believes the former Olympic gold medallist still has what it takes to reclaim world titles.

“Do I think that he’s good enough to become a three-time world champion? Yes. Would I back him in the rematch against Daniel Dubois? Yes, I would. The reason being that I’ll be honest with you; anybody can have an off night,” Saunders said.

The 34-year-old Joshua’s bid to return to the division’s top table ended dramatically when Dubois landed a crunching right hand that left him sprawling on the canvas in front of 98,000 fans.

Despite the setback, Joshua has vowed to continue boxing, with his promoter Eddie Hearn confirming that a potential rematch could take place in Saudi Arabia during the Riyadh Season, a festival of entertainment and sports events running from October to March.

Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority, has tentatively scheduled the bout for February.

Meanwhile, IBF champion Dubois says he is ready for the rematch but believes Joshua will have psychological hurdles to overcome.

“He’ll have a lot of demons playing on his mind. Who knows if people are talking him into it; I don’t know. I know from my side I’m ready to go out there and show the world that I’m the king,” Dubois said.

Joshua’s remarkable career has seen him win multiple world titles, with victories over boxing legends like Wladimir Klitschko. However, losses to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019 (which he later avenged) and back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk have raised questions about his future in the sport.

Meanwhile, former world champion Carl Froch has advised Joshua against rushing into an immediate rematch, suggesting he should “head back to the gym, do some light sparring, and see what happens between Fury and Usyk in their rematch.”