DAZN CEO for North America Joe Markowski has spoken out about the future of Anthony Joshua, and insists a summer outing is not off the cards for the British heavyweight.
Joshua had posted a message on social media the other week, where he revealed he would not be back in the ring until December, and reports of a clash in Saudi against Deontay Wilder soon followed.
However, Markowski told BoxingScene that waiting until December to fight again is not what DAZN intend for their prized heavyweight.
“That’s not consistent with what we’re planning.
We’re in discussions for an AJ fight in advance of that, but nothing’s made. We’ll see what happens. [A summer fight is] definitely possible.
Fighters say things on social media all the time, I don’t think you should read too much into that.
We’re talking to AJ’s team about what the next six, seven months look like for AJ. We’re not there yet. But I don’t think it’ll take too long until we’ve got some clarity on that.”
After Joshua’s successful comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin in early April, the expectation was that he would be back out in July, potentially in a rematch with old foe Dillian Whyte.
The confirmation of plans for a blockbuster night of heavyweight boxing in Saudi Arabia seem to have curtailed a summer bout with ‘The Bodysnatcher,’ especially after Joshua himself said he would not be fighting again until the winter.
In what would be an unprecedented night for the sport, Skills Challenge Group intend to stage Joshua vs Wilder on the same card as Tyson Fury for Oleksandr Usyk for undisputed.