Anthony Joshua has apparently decided to head unto a different path than had first been speculated. With his promoter Eddie Hearn declaring earlier that Joshua would fight three times a year, the former unified Heavyweight champion’s announcement to fight twice a year instead ― with his next fight slated for December ― comes as a bit of a surprise.
The decision is a sharp turn from Anthony Joshua’s (25-3, 22 KO’s) earlier supposed desire to be as active as possible. Though his contemporaries in the sport ― including Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs), Tyson Fury (33-0-1, 24 KO’s) and Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KO’s) ― have also been rather inactive with just one fight per year, Eddie Hearn had given the impression that Anthony Joshua would be much more active in a bid to improve as a fighter.
The plan that had been cooked up between Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn was to have him fight three times in 2023 in order to get him to gradually improve with his new trainer, Derrick James, with the idea of fighting a more difficult opponent after the previous. After defeating American Heavyweight contender Jermaine Franklin (21-2, 14 KO’s) on April 1st, Joshua was expected to fight somewhere in the summer but this will no longer be the case according to Anthony Joshua himself.
“My next fight is in December. Not ideal, but everything is part of a bigger picture.” Anthony Joshua cryptically stated on his Instagram account.
Eddie Hearn only added to the suspense with his own mysterious comment of “all in good time” in response to boxing reporter Steve Kim’s Tweet asking for answers to the announcement that Joshua would be fighting in December.
Despite Anthony Joshua having called out Tyson Fury in his post-match interview after defeating Jermaine Franklin, reports now seem to circulate of Joshua fighting Deontay Wilder in December instead in Dubai ― as part of a mega-bout extravaganza in the Middle Eastern country of U.A.E. that may also feature Tyson Fury potentially facing Oleksandr Usyk in the same month, or even the same card.
The same news also seem to tie Andy Ruiz and Daniel Dubois into the equation who are also expected to face Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk respectively in the summer, with the winner of both matches expected to headline against each other in December.
Alternatively, some of the match-ups are likely to happen but without the necessary inclusion of Dubai and subsequent mega-fights. Oleksandr Usyk will likely face Daniel Dubois (19-1, 18 KO’s) after they were ordered to face each other by the WBA, while there is also every indication that Andy Ruiz Jr. (35-2, 22 KO’s), Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury might meet one or the other in the ring come summer
While Anthony Joshua was expected to face Dillian Whyte (29-3, 19 KO’s) for a rematch for his next fight, the announcement of Joshua fighting in December might not include Whyte as the expected opponent. Dillian Whyte might not be a suitable opponent for Anthony Joshua given ― as Tony Bellew himself stated ― he would not gain much from a victory over Whyte other than money, thus making it a decent possibility that Anthony Joshua might actually face a much-bigger name in either Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder come December.
