Anthony Joshua’s road to retirement is clear as the 35-year-old two-time world heavyweight champion prepares for his ring return later this year.
Some experts said AJ should be considering whether or not to fight again even before now, after that devastating knockout defeat by Daniel Dubois in his last outing in September 2024.
The manner of that five-round demolition job was quite shocking – Joshua was on the floor in four of the five rounds as he failed to join boxing’s select band of three-time heavyweight kings.
AJ (now 28-4) though could never leave the big stage after a performance like that, and he has confirmed he will fight on. But according to his promoter Eddie Hearn, it will not be for too much longer.
The Matchroom supremo discussed Joshua’s future recently in an interview with Kugan Cassius of iFL TV (watch the full version at the bottom of this page). He says every decision that team AJ make now has huge importance, because the clock is ticking.
How many fights does AJ have left?
He explained: “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.”
Right now Joshua, who is rehabbing his elbow following surgery which will keep him out of the gym for 6-8 weeks, does not hold a world heavyweight title. So the fight he chooses next, and the opponent, have to be big enough to light that fire within him.
The big fish of course is Tyson Fury, but to be able to land that fish Fury would need to come out of retirement. He has already dropped a major hint, and Hearn believes it is a fight which would literally take a DM to make.
He told the BBC: “This is the kind of fight that probably gets made over a DM between the two or a text or a call. It’s like ‘look, do you fancy it?’ That’s it. And then, bang, it’s done.”
Joshua has said he is likely to return to the ring in December, with four opponents mentioned. They are Fury along with German Agit Kabayel, Congolese star Martin Bakole and big-punching American Deontay Wilder.
AJ and Wilder of course had been due to meet in a Saudi blockbuster in March 2024, but Wilder fluffed his lines badly by losing his warmup fight against Joseph Parker.
Should Joshua make that December date after recovering from injury, Hearn’s retirement projection would likely see the British superstar bowing out at some stage in 2026. Now it seems just a matter of whether it is one, two or three fights left.
It’s been quite a ride but clearly the Watford megastar is keen to end his career on a high note, banishing the bad memories of that loss to Dubois. He has been an incredible ambassador for the sport, and deserves to go out on his own terms.
