Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has outlined Anthony Joshua’s next options as he eyes up a heavyweight world title or a potential shot against one of the biggest names in the division, following on from his impressive performances under Ben Davison.
Joshua teamed up with Davison ahead of his showdown with Otto Wallin in December off of the back of disappointing displays against both Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius. However, their partnership saw Joshua rediscover his killer instinct and knock out the tricky Swedish southpaw in a one-sided beatdown.
Less than three months later, Joshua returned to do what Tyson Fury couldn’t and knock out former UFC champion Francis Ngannou in just two rounds, after the Cameroonian had lost a controversial to ‘The Gypsy King’ five months prior, sending out a message to the rest of the division that Joshua may well be back to his best.
As a result, Joshua has been linked to clashes with each and every of his heavyweight rivals as he seeks to position himself for the chance to become just the fifth three-time heavyweight champion in the proud history of the division.
However, in an interview with Boxing Social, Hearn admitted that the allure of a potential battle with Deontay Wilder could delay Joshua’s title challenge.
“Anything can happen, honestly. There has been a lot of conversations obviously, we know that the Riyadh season card has been locked in for Los Angeles on August 3rd and also there is the possibility of that London card at Wembley in September.
“So nothing is cemented, but if that card does take place then I am sure that there is a good chance that ‘AJ’ could fight on it, against who? I don’t know.
“We will see what happens firstly on May 18th, that is the big one that everybody is looking at to see who comes through out of [Tyson] Fury and [Oleksandr] Usyk.
“Then you have got Wilder-Zhang, then you have got Hrgovic-Dubois, see what happens with the IBF title but literally anything can happen.
“You have got two things; the IBF title freeing up potentially and the allure of the Wilder fight. If Wilder comes through Zhang, which I believe he will, everyone is going to start talking about Joshua-Wilder again.
“That is definitely a fight that His Excellency likes, ‘AJ’ is up for that fight, he would of course love to win a heavyweight world title again, he would love to fight the winner of Fury-Usyk but at the moment nothing is locked in, because of all of the upcoming fights. We will see what spits out on May 18th and June 1st.”
The IBF world title is expected to be vacated shortly after Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk on May 18th, with Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois set to go head-to-head for the vacant belt on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol undercard on June 1st.
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