Eddie Hearn has said how many fights he believes Anthony Joshua has left of his career.
Joshua made his comeback after seven months out of the ring against Jermaine Franklin last weekend. It was deemed a pivotal moment for him, stepping back inside the ropes after losing, and then failing to regain, his titles in back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua ultimately got what he needed, a tick back in the win column, but the performance left some fans underwhelmed. Before the fight most felt the former champion required a statement knockout to make the rest of the division take notice, but the stoppage never really looked close.
The nature of the victory has somewhat dampened the hype around a potential Tyson Fury clash in the summer, with Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, preferring at least one more fight before moving onto the likes of Fury and Deontay Wilder.
The Brit has made it clear who he wants to face before he hangs up the gloves, and Hearn thinks his man has between 5 and 8 fights left to tick those names off.
When asked by iD Boxing about fighting another Brit, Joe Joyce, Hearn answered:
“AJ’s made it very clear the fights he wants and Joe Joyce is on that list. He’s sparred thousands of rounds with Joe Joyce, they grew up really learning the sport and competing on the amateur system and it’s a really good fight. There is really no reason that fight shouldn’t happen in AJ’s career.
I see him having between, I don’t know, 5 and 8 fights left and 100% Joe Joyce will be in that, whether that’s the summer I don’t know.”
It seems unlikely Joyce will face Joshua in 2023, with Hearn admitting that Dillian Whyte is the current front runner to face Joshua next, with the plan of a fight against either Wilder of Fury at the end of the year.