Anthony Joshua once again stands on the cusp of heavyweight boxing domination after that brilliant win over Francis Ngannou last Friday night, but who will he face in his next fight?
AJ was absolutely brilliant in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as he blasted out the former UFC heavyweight champion inside two rounds.
Joshua (now 28-3 with 25 wins inside distance) put Ngannou on the deck with a beautiful straight right late in the first round, and then followed up in the second with a right-hand, left-hook combination to again have the Cameroonian on his back.
The coup de grace late in Round 2 though was a thing of beauty – an absolutely massive right hand which had referee Richard Gonzalez waving the fight off before Ngannou hit the canvas.
Now attention moves on to who Joshua will face next, and sadly it will not be Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk. At least not just yet.
Hrgovic next for Joshua?
The great news is that Joshua is lined up now for a shot at the winner of those Fury vs Usyk unification matches. The bad news is, they will take a little while to work out. The first one takes place on May 18 but there is a rematch clause, which likely means late in 2024.
So Joshua will likely be left until 2025 marking time for his chance to finally become the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. His career ambition.
In the meantime though the British superstar could well get the opportunity to become a three-time world heavyweight champion.
It appears there is every chance the IBF heavyweight title will become vacant after that first Fury vs Usyk meeting, which means Joshua vs Filip Hrgovic is a very likely option here.
Hrgovic (17-0 with 14 wins inside distance) – one of the division’s most avoided men – is the mandatory contender for the belt currently held by Usyk, while Joshua is next in the rankings.
So if that title does become vacant in May as expected, then it is likely Joshua and Hrgovic will rumble to claim the strap.
Should AJ come through that fight, we then expect him to face the winner of Fury vs Usyk. And if it is Fury, expect more than one fight. Remember they had a two-fight deal agreed back in 2021 before Deontay Wilder put a spanner in the works by forcing a trilogy match with ‘The Gypsy King’.
