Eddie Hearn has cast doubt on Dillian Whyte being Anthony Joshua’s next opponent, saying that the fight would likely be in April or May.
‘AJ’s last fight was a second loss to Oleksandr Usyk. The British fighter failed to win back his heavyweight titles and cemented his ‘challenger’ status for the near future. Still, his career is far from done – he’s just starting with a new training set up and has signed a deal with streaming platform, DAZN, that’s reportedly worth over $100 million.
Given all of the above, it’s known that Joshua is keen to get out again soon, with a December date initially pencilled in. Following prolonged, and ultimately futile, negotiations with Tyson Fury, the end of the year date was changed into early 2023.
Hearn had previously floated a second fight with Whyte as the match up ‘AJ’ was eyeing, but has now revealed to Boxing Social that if it were to happen it would be April or May – and there is now an earlier alternative.
“Ultimately, he wants big fights, AJ, and it’s just whether he waits for April, May and that would be a Dillian Whyte or someone like this, or if he boxes in February, and it’ll be someone else. We’ll see what happens this week.”
Whilst nothing is set in stone – and perhaps that points to a longer time spent out of the ring for the former champion – some may assume that by introducing February as an option it may be the more likely route.
Joshua and his team have been vocal about staying active, with three fights the ideal number for 2023, and a fight not far off summer certainly wouldn’t be the best start. Other potential opponents include the likes of Otto Wallin, Filip Hrgović, Zhilei Zhang.