Eddie Hearn has revealed that Anthony Joshua has told him the fight that he wants next – and it’s a rematch with some bad blood.
Joshua faced British rival, Dillian Whyte, on December 12, 2015 for the Commonwealth, WBC International and vacant British heavyweight titles. It was a fight that had plenty of spice in the build up and culminated in a seventh round knockout for ‘AJ.’
We all know the story from there – Joshua went on to be unified heavyweight champion of the world, whilst Whyte remained on the fringes of world title challenges before finally getting his shot this year. Now, according to the promoter of both men, the rematch could happen early next year. He spoke to DAZN Boxing this week.
“Probably January or February is where we’re looking it. In terms of names, look, talking to him [Joshua] the other day – he wants to fight Dillian Whyte, really. Dillian Whyte fights November 29th against [Jermain] Franklin, who’s talking a tremendous game. We’ll see how that plays out, but I think Dillian Whyte is probably the front runner if he comes through.”
‘The Bodysnatcher’ has called for another chance at ‘AJ’ for years now and, should he be victorious in November, it seems that nothing would really stand in the way of the rematch. It certainly makes sense in terms of revenue for all involved.
Perhaps most importantly though, having been knocked out by Tyson Fury in April of this year, the Brixton heavyweight needs to show the world that he still belongs at the very top level of the division.
Despite it being seemingly the best option for both men, Hearn is still considering other options.
“Otto Wallin has reached out numerous times – I think that’s a good fight for him as well. And then, of course, there’s the Wilder situation. Not saying that’s going to be the fight for January or February, but it’s definitely a fight that he’s looking at.”
“I think the feeling of AJ is – and by the way none of them are easy fights – but the value of a tune up, if you like, sometimes they’re all as dangerous as each other, do you know what I mean? So I don’t think he wants to start dropping out of the top 15 and top 10 of the governing bodies and just looking for an easy touch, I think he wants a real fight.”
With Joshua’s two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk now behind him, the former champion and Olympic Gold Medallist is clearly keen to get back to winning ways, and we can expect an announcement in the coming months as to who that might be against.