Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua was not expected to face the outcome he did in his highly anticipated showdown against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois in London earlier this month. Nobody—absolutely nobody—saw it coming, not even Joshua’s sparring partner, Ty Mitchell.

While some had speculated that Dubois could pull off an upset, few anticipated the manner in which he did. The 27-year-old Brit fearlessly pressed forward throughout the bout, unfazed by Joshua’s renowned power. Dubois scored knockdowns in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th rounds, ultimately finishing the fight with a knockout in the 5th round, successfully defending his IBF title.

The crowd at Wembley was up on their feet, witnessing a shocking turn of events unfold before their eyes. Yet, no one was more astonished by the outcome than Ty Mitchell, who has also trained alongside Tyson Fury in the past. Speaking to Boxing King Media on Sunday, the English southpaw explained, “I wasn’t there. I thought that [it was] a dangerous fight.”

While Mitchell felt the fight could have gone either way, his money was on his sparring partner, catching Dubois early in the fight with a powerful shot. However, “Daniel Dubois just looked like no matter what [AJ] could have thrown, hit him with a sledgehammer… He looked like he would not be denied…,” Mitchell said. 

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Joshua’s sparring partner expressed that he wanted Joshua to win because of their work together, but claimed, “[Dubois is] a nice kid. I’m happy for him.” When asked about Joshua’s next move, Mitchell expressed unwavering confidence in his prediction. “I bet he’s going to take a rematch. I think he should take a rematch,” he said. 

The sparring partner suggested that if Joshua is eager to fight again, he should prioritize a rematch to clear his name before assessing the landscape. “I think knowing AJ, he is going to want to run it back and get a clap back,” Mitchell added. This led the reporter to probe Joshua’s sparring partner about a prediction for the potential rematch.

Despite what Dubois did to Joshua, Mitchell suggested that the fight could go either way. Interestingly, this won’t be the first time Joshua would chase one of his losses. 

Every time Anthony Joshua has chased redemption

The Dubois loss was surprising, but it wasn’t Joshua’s first loss. Back in June 2019, the 6′ 6″ heavyweight suffered his first career defeat at the hands of Andy Ruiz Jr. Despite initially looking bad in the fight, Ruiz came back from a knockdown in the 3rd to floor Joshua twice in the third round and twice in the seventh to win the fight via a 7th-round knockout. 

The very same year in December, Joshua came back for vengeance with a new strategy in mind. While one could argue in the rematch Joshua hid behind his jab and Ruiz had become overconfident and lethargic, Joshua managed to pull off a unanimous decision win. However, he wasn’t that lucky against Oleksandr Usyk.

In September 2021, Joshua locked horns with ‘The Cat,’ suffering his second defeat via a unanimous decision. Nine months later he tried his luck again against Usyk, but the result tipped in Usyk’s favor, as he won the fight via a split decision. 

Will Anthony Joshua follow his tradition of pursuing a rematch? He has been adamant about getting a rematch, but only time will tell whether it will really happen. What do you think Joshua should do?