close
close

Eddie Hearn and Simon Jordan argue about Anthony Joshua's “giving up” after KO loss to Andy Ruiz, but agree on Daniel Dubois

Eddie Hearn and Simon Jordan disagree about the ending of Anthony Joshua's famous KO loss to Andy Ruiz.

AJ pulled off one of the biggest upsets of all time when he was knocked down four times en route to a shocking seventh-round stoppage loss to Ruiz in June 2019.

Joshua's durability has been questioned since his loss to Ruiz

3

Joshua's durability has been questioned since his loss to RuizPhoto credit: GETTY

Joshua got up from the ground each time, but eventually the referee had seen enough and stopped the WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight title fight.

On Tuesday, Hearn spoke to talkSPORT's Jim White and Simon Jordan about Joshua's upcoming fight against IBF champion Daniel Dubios, which will take place at Wembley Stadium on September 21.

The discussion became heated when the former Crystal Palace chairman accused Joshua of giving up after his only KO loss.

Jordan said: “But he gave up against Ruiz, right?”

Hearn vehemently defended his star client against the accusation.

“No, I don't think so,” he said. “Not at all. I mean, he kept getting up.”

Jordan compared Joshua's loss to Ruiz to the loss Dubois suffered to Joe Joyce in 2020.

“DDD” knelt down and waited to be counted out after breaking his orbital bone.

Hearn replied: “When you concede, you kneel down, look the referee in the eye and he says, 'Eight, nine, ten.' [Joshua] got up every time.”

Jordan believes Joshua's behavior after Ruiz's final knockdown showed he did not want to continue fighting, but Hearn insists he was just trying to buy some time.

It's always entertaining when Hearn and Jordan meet

3

It's always entertaining when Hearn and Jordan meetPhoto credit: talkSPORT
They agree that Dubois gave up against Usyk

3

They agree that Dubois gave up against UsykPhoto credit: Getty

The talkSPORT presenter said: “But he was in the corner when he was asked the referee's question and it was waved away.”

“He went back to his corner and tried to buy more time,” Hearn countered. “The referee looked at him and said, 'You've been down four times, the fight is over.'”

“He had several opportunities in this fight not to get to his feet.

Turki Alalshikh promises to drastically reduce PPV price for Anthony Joshua vs. Daniel Dubois to combat illegal streaming

“When you keep getting back up after four knocks down, giving up is the last thing you do.”

Although they could not agree on the outcome of Joshua vs. Ruiz I, Hearn and Jordan both believe Dubois retired after his ninth-round knockout loss to Oleksandr Usyk last September.

He knelt down again and waited to be counted out by the referee.

Since then, he has shown a lot of heart to achieve a clear victory over Filip Hrgovic.

Only time will tell if Dubois can show the same toughness against Joshua.

talkSPORT brings you exclusive live commentary of the heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 21 September. Download the talkSPORT app here.