"It's a difficult defeat" - Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua could've beat Daniel Dubois despite "disastrous start" and multiple errors, if not for KO

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn gave his take on Anthony Joshua's loss against Daniel Dubois. Hearn believes that the 34-year-old could have won if he hadn't been knocked out.

Joshua clashed against Dubois for the IBF heavyweight title this past weekend at Wembley Stadium. The bout was as an opportunity for the Brit to reclaim the belt after losing it to Oleksandr Usyk three years ago. However, Dubois crushed Joshua's hopes when he knocked 'AJ' down several times before eventually stopping him in the fifth round.

Joshua had a moment in Round 5 when he appeared to wobble Dubois with a hard right hand. However, in his rush to get the finish, he stepped into a fight-ending counter right hand from 'Dynamite'.

Hearn discussed Joshua's performance in the post-fight press conference, saying:

''It's a difficult defeat, but at this point you have to try and take any positives you can and it's difficult because the start was disastrous and the only positives I can take is the unbelievable heart and guts and n*ts that he [Joshua] showed to never give up.''

Hearn added:

''Remarkably, as bad as he performed tonight, as many mistakes that he made, he still could have won the fight.''

Check out Eddie Hearn's comments below (0:46):

During his interview inside the ring, Hearn revealed Joshua's rematch clause, saying:

"I'm sure [Joshua will] exercise that rematch clause. I think that's a given. But he'll need to rest and it's a dangerous fight, [Dubois is] gaining confidence every time. But he'll believe he can hurt Dubois. Full credit to Daniel Dubois, he deserves all the credit tonight."

Check out Eddie Hearn's comments below: