Anthony Joshua is now 36 years old and the highest highs of a glittering professional career may be in the rear view mirror.
Joshua still has dreams of becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion, but the odds right now appear to be against him as he prepares for that crossover showdown vs Youtuber Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.
AJ will reportedly earn north of £50million for an eight-round ‘heavyweight fight’ against ‘The Problem Child’, who has yet to face anybody of note in a 12-1 pro career to date (Mike Tyson was 58 years old by the time the pair met in the ring).
READ MORE: Latest P4P rankings – wham ‘Bam’, Benavidez a beast, Canelo slides
It will be a career-high payday for Joshua, who is a heavy 1/9 favourite to pad his 28-4 pro record with an easy win. But where does he rank right now in terms of the actual heavyweight boxing elite?
The last time we saw AJ – he has been out of the ring for a year, having elbow surgery and putting his business affairs in order – he was being knocked out in devastating fashion by Daniel Dubois at Wembley in September 2024. Was that all he is now, an accident waiting to happen? Or can he return to something like the devastating former glories of days gone by?
Let’s take a look at where the Watford superstar is ranked right now by all of the major organisations who matter.
Anthony Joshua rankings
This is where AJ is ranked in November 2025:
WBC (World Boxing Council) – #3
AJ is surprisingly high in this list, one topped by the champion Oleksandr Usyk, who of course defeated the British superstar twice in 2021 and 2022. German Agit Kabayel is currently the mandatory challenger, so AJ is on the outside looking in.
WBA (World Boxing Association – unranked
AJ is totally absent from the WBA list, one again topped by Usyk, who is the ‘super champion’. Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev – a Joshua victim back in December 2020 – is the regular champion, while young Brit Moses Itauma is next in line.
IBF (International Boxing Federation) – unranked
Once again no mention of Joshua in the top 15 for the IBF. Again Usyk is the champion right now and the last mandatory mentioned was veteran British warhorse Dereck Chisora.
WBO (World Boxing Organization) – unranked
So there you have it, three of the four major sanctioning bodies have no place for Joshua in their top 15. Fairytale Brit Fabio Wardley is the new champion here after the belt was vacated by Usyk. The 20-year-old Itauma is again next in line.
Ring magazine – unranked
This might be the biggest sign of Joshu’s slide/inactivity. He is not in the top 10 for arguably the most credible ranking system in boxing. Usyk of course is the champion.
Furyjoshua.com – #8
Of course we have a view here, and our latest rankings have AJ in at number 8. Again Usyk tops the list, followed by Tyson Fury and the young force that is Itauma. AJ is not finished here, he just has to prove that he can still hang with the very best. The evidence of that Dubois beatdown is still very fresh in the memory.
In simple terms AJ is now a fading force if you look at the rankings, and that will not change in any way even if he obliterates Jake Paul on December 19.
The word is Joshua has a massive two-fight Saudi deal waiting for him in 2026. A fight in Riyadh in February followed by a Wembley blockbuster in London in September. Hopefully that one is the long-awaited all-British showdown vs Tyson Fury.
A win there, and yes, we can once again talk about Joshua being back in the heavyweight elite.
