Anthony Joshua seems well poised to challenge for a world title either later this year or in early 2025, against the victor of Fury-Usyk for the unified titles or the winner of Hrgovic-Dubois, whom is expected to hold the IBF title in June. With AJ’s hopes of becoming the fifth three-time heavyweight champion on ice for now, we at Boxing Social ponder who he should take on whilst he waits for his shot.
Joseph Parker (35-3)
Anthony Joshua’s improvements under Ben Davison during the last few months have been nothing short of sensational, rediscovering the killer instinct from the earlier days of his career which earnt him the popularity that remains today. However, the form of ‘AJ’ can arguably be topped by that of Parker, whose career has seen an even more remarkable resurgence over the last 18 months, as his relationship with Andy Lee blossomed.
The New Zealander has bounced back from defeat to Joe Joyce with five consecutive wins in just 14 months, including upset victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. The activity of the former WBO champion has clearly aided his development and he has suddenly become recognised as a threat to the heavyweight crown once again.
Yet, from Joshua’s perspective, Parker is one of just three men that he has beaten and hasn’t knocked out and the 32-year-old holds the WBO interim title. Therefore, victory over Parker would ensure that Joshua gets a crack at the Fury-Usyk winner and receive massive plaudits for victory over a highly-rated challenger who he has already defeated relatively comfortably.
Dillian Whyte (30-3)
From one rematch to another, Anthony Joshua was scheduled to face Dillian Whyte once again back in August, until his domestic rival was forced to pull out as a result of a positive drugs test. Regardless of AJ’s 2015 knockout win against his fellow Londoner, the scores are arguably still tied at 1-1 after Whyte’s triumph over Joshua in the amateurs and a second professional match-up with ‘The Body Snatcher’ would give Joshua to put their rivalry to bed once and for all
The added angle of Whyte’s drug test makes the event even more sellable and Joshua would go into the bout a heavy favourite for what could be a well-paid, low-risk fight based off of recent performances, as well as one that Joshua has admitted to be interested in.
Agit Kabayel (24-0)
Finally, there is Agit Kabayel, the only man on our list who Joshua has not already defeated. The German upset the odds in Saudi Arabia when he stopped Arslanbek Makhmudov in December and is well ranked across all four sanctioning bodies as a result. Joshua has been linked to a showdown with the undefeated and previously untested contender in the past, but the win over Makhmudov may well have been due to the Russian being overrated, rather than Kabayel being underrated.
A bout with Kabayel gives Joshua the chance to defeat a well-ranked opponent, but Kabayel’s lack of punch power, coupled with the fact he has competed in just eight rounds since June 2021, should make him an easy nights’ work for Joshua.
Each of these options are dependent on both the opportunity to face the Fury-Usyk winner before their proposed rematch and the chance to take on Filip Hrgovic for the IBF title surpassing Joshua. However, there are a number of alternate candidates for ‘AJ’, as well as the option to simply sit the summer out and patiently wait for the call, in spite of the form that his newfound activity has encouraged.