Anthony Joshua is waiting patiently to take on the victor of Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk, but against whom will he compete in the interim?
After winning four straight fights following those devastating back-to-back defeats by Usyk in 2021 and 2022, AJ (28-3) is back to his best.
Joshua has also looked utterly rejuvenated under new head coach Ben Davison, having opened their collaboration with two dominant victories over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
The global heavyweight championship is what AJ really wants, but he will have to wait a little while longer since Fury and Usyk will be facing each other in Riyadh on May 18—and maybe immediately after that in a rematch.
Now, all eyes are on who he will fight next; a huge homecoming bout at Wembley Stadium in September has already been suggested.
While names like IBF mandatory contender Filip Hrgovic and another British star, Daniel Dubois, have been mentioned, AJ, Eddie Hearn, and the team could want to consider another alternative, according to respected Sky Sports analyst Andy Clarke.
When will Anthony Joshua fight next?
“I think he’ll want to stay active, because that’s what has brought him this rich vein of form that he’s in now,” he said in an interview with Seconds Out on YouTube. Joseph Parker is the same way; everyone should just look at those two individuals and realize that there is an underlying theme; it’s not rocket science.
“Yet it’s confusing, isn’t it, because Fury vs. Usyk has a two-way rematch provision. However, others speculate that if Fury prevails, the Saudis will want to produce Fury/AJ immediately, which would make perfect sense. They should have the strength to approach Usyk and tell him, “You will definitely be the winner; here’s a great compensation package for stepping aside.”
But he might not want to do that because he might believe that “I’ll never get the chance to level the score if Fury wins and AJ retires.” Given how unpredictable boxing may be, it’s possible that things won’t turn out exactly as planned. Clearly, Usyk could defeat Fury.
Parker is the obvious pick if Hrgovic isn’t available.
After Fury and Usyk’s first meeting, Clarke says he had anticipated AJ to challenge Hrgovic for the vacant IBF championship. However, new rumors indicate the Croat may instead take on Dubois on the Hearn vs. Frank Warren 5 on 5 bill on June 1.
“I was a little taken aback by the Dubois/Hrgovic situation, as I had assumed that Joshua would be occupied by boxing for the IBF title in the event of a rematch between Fury and Usyk. I was therefore a little surprised by that.
It is likely that they will try to pair him with WBO interim champion Joseph Parker as the form guys if that doesn’t work out and he needs a fight to stay in the game. The IBF will defend their title if Fury and Usyk rematch, but the WBO might also do so—you never know. Joshua would be facing Parker basically for the WBO championship if their past performances and current form are any indication, as they would elevate their interim champion to the position of full champion. A rematch between those two might be something like that. That wouldn’t bother me.
“Yes, Anthony, he does seem to be in a little awkward situation.”
Parker has returned to the top.
Naturally, Parker (35-3) has also experienced a comeback in the past 18 months, winning five straight bouts following that devastating defeat at the hands of Joe Joyce on September 22. He has recently defeated both Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang in two noteworthy upsets.
After defeating Zhang, the Kiwi is now the mandatory WBO contender; nevertheless, the Chinese fighter was subject to a one-way rematch clause.
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