Eddie Hearn has revealed his wish list for Anthony Joshua’s next few fights.
The Matchroom head honcho is now attempting to rebuild the 32-year-old after he suffered a second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last weekend.
Joshua was on the wrong end of an inexplicable split decision against the Ukrainian on Saturday at the Jeddah Superdome as he looked to win back the WBA Super, IBF, IBO and WBO titles.
Usyk, who picked up WBC champion Tyson Fury’s old Ring Magazine title with the win, got the nod on two of the three scorecards by margins of 115-113 and 116-112, while one judge gave it to the Brit by handing in a 113-115 tally.
Former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk now has his eyes set on a mega showdown with Fury for all the belts in the sport’s premier division, while Hearn is eager to get former two-time unified world champion, Joshua, back in the winning column.
A fight against Deontay Wilder has long been teased by both camps and Hearn believes it could well happen, even though Wilder has his return to the ring coming up in October against Finland’s Robert Helenius.
When speaking to the DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn said:
“It may be the biggest fight in the division, still.
“[Tyson] Fury [against Oleksandr] Usyk is a huge fight, obviously, but in terms of excitement, ‘AJ’ [vs.] Wilder is right up there, as is ‘AJ’ against Dillian Whyte.
“The next step, in my opinion, for ‘AJ’ will be to box in December or January or whenever that’s going to be and to come back with a top 15 guy and put in a dominating performance.”
Joshua produced a much-improved performance in Saudi Arabia compared to his first fight against Usyk when he was unanimously outpointed by the southpaw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London last September.
He had his new coach, Robert Garcia, in the corner with him for the first time, having left long-time mentor Robert McCracken in the wake of the first defeat to the Ukrainian.
And Hearn, even in defeat, believes Joshua needs to capitalise on the momentum of a better display.
He added:
“He needs to get back on the winning saddle and then move with activity. I want him to have four fights between now and the end of 2023.
“I see the Dillian Whyte fight as a must-make fight for Anthony Joshua for the British public, I see Deontay Wilder as a must-make fight and I also see him fighting Tyson Fury because it’s a monumental one for British fight fans, but we’ll see how that plays out.”