Anthony Joshua WILL return to a professional boxing ring, and promoter Eddie Hearn has provided an update on just when that might be.
AJ (28-4) has not fought since failing in his bid to become a three-time world heavyweight champion when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in an IFB title challenge at Wembley last September.
Since then the 35-year-old British superstar has also been forced to sit on the sidelines as he rehabs an injury to the upper part of his body.
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The question now is when Joshua will be fit to return, and Hearn had promising news when he spoke to Kugan Cassius of IFL TV on YouTube (you can watch the full interview at the bottom of this article).
Hearn on Joshua inury latest
He explained: “I still get this question in every interview I ever do. Which shows you the size and draw of Anthony Joshua. He’s been away as you’ve seen. When he gets back he’ll be probably a week away from starting camp. When I starting camp, I mean punching, properly.
“Once he’s able to do that we’ll start looking to lock in a date. I don’t want to say we’re in no tearing rush, because people don’t seem to like that. But we’ve just got to make the right decision.”
When pushed to bet on when AJ’s next fight could happen, Hearn answered: “August/September. It depends on if [Oleksandr] Usyk and [Daniel] Dubois happens and where we would fight. Back end of the summer.”
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If Usyk and Dubois do fight for the undisputed heayvweight title – the talk is of a potential showdown at Wembley Stadium on July 12 – they would of course be off the table as Joshua foes right now.
Fury vs Joshua at last?
The dream for Hearn, still, is that long-awaited Joshua vs Tyson Fury showdown. But the big barrier to that right now is that Fury retired following the second of back-to-back losses to Usyk in December 2024.
Hearn added: “Obviously in an ideal world, if Fury comes out of retirement, it will be a blessing. But if not, we’re gonna be in a big fight, we’ve just gotta get it right. AJ has got between 1 and 3 fights left in his career, so we’ve got to be in the right fight, a fight that motivates him and hopefully a fight that moves him forward.
“When we begin Benn vs Eubank fight week next week and the week after, we’ll be sitting down with 258 (Joshua’s management company) and AJ and looking at who are possibilities and what date we could fight.”
