Anthony Joshua is making progress recovering from his devastating knockout loss last September to Daniel Dubois and after a media silence of several months since his defeat, the former unified heavyweight champion has signaled his plans to continue fighting this year while aiming to become a world champion. With fights against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury still lurking, Joshua has apparently outlined his plans to face either of the two aforementioned British fighters in a bid to reach for glory once more.
According to Nigerian news outlet The News, Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KO’s) still aims to become a three-time heavyweight (200+ lbs) champion despite the setback he suffered last September:
“I’m going to go again. Ups and downs, they happen,” Joshua stated to The News following a visit to Nigerian president Bola Tinubu. “To some people, it is always up. My life is up and down, so I got to get used to the turbulent times and keep riding the wave.
“I can’t stop now, I have to keep going until I reach my destination.”
Joshua has stated his wish to become a three-time champion several times before in the past after his second championship run came to an end to none other than former undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (23-0, 14 KO’s) in 2021. Since that defeat, Joshua recorded a total of four wins and one loss [against Usyk in their 2022 rematch] before facing fellow Brit Daniel Dubois (22-2, 21 KO’s) for his IBF heavyweight title.
While Dubois is currently set to face former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (35-3, 23 KO’s) on February 22nd, a potential rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dubois is not implausible depending on whether Dubois succesfully defends his title against Parker. The prospect of Joshua and Parker meeting in the ring may also be on the cards if Parker manages to defeat Dubois; setting the stage for a momentous rematch of their 2018 bout which saw Joshua claim Parker’s WBO title as the IBF champion to become a unified champion.
Tyson Fury (34-2-1, 24 KO’s) remains the most probable opponent Joshua could face, however, following his two back-to-back losses to Usyk last year; with his last bout occurring on December 21st. With both fighters hailing from the same country, having been two-time world champions and having lost to the same fighter twice, a Joshua-Fury bout had already been highly desired for several years but now appears to be even more suitable given the state of both their careers.
Matchroom chairman and Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, corroborated these same plans in a recent interview where he highlighted Dubois and Fury as potential next opponents for Joshua.
“[Joshua’s fight will be] in May or June. He’s not in full training yet. He’s probably ready to resume training in January,” Hearn told iFL TV at the backend of last month.
“At the moment, you’ve got the Dubois fight on 22 February, and you’ve got to see what Fury wants to do. We’re not in a terrible rush. AJ will fight twice in 2025. Once in the summer and once in the winter.
“If we can’t make the Dubois fight and if Fury doesn’t want to fight, then you have to make the decision to fight somebody, or do you wait for those fights?“
According to Hearn, a summer return for Anthony Joshua in May or June is most likely on the cards, regardless of whether he faces Dubois, Fury or another heavyweight. Aside from Fury and Dubois, plenty of other heavyweight opponents could be in line to face Joshua next, with dangerous contenders such as Martin Bakole (21-1, 16 KO’s), Agit Kabayel (25-0, 17 KO’s) or Zhilei Zhang (27-2-1, 22 KO’s) regarded as some of the many viable opponents he could face in the near future.
