Eddie Hearn reveals new timeline for Anthony Joshua's retirement as ‘curveball' talks change plans for next fight
ANTHONY JOSHUA could be heading into his final year in boxing - as the search for his next opponent continues on.
AJ is recovering from elbow surgery in May and preparing to enter training camp for his first fight since losing to Daniel Dubois in September.
3
Promoter Eddie Hearn revealed a comeback bout is targeted between October-December and Dillian Whyte, 37, was their frontrunner opponent.
But now Whyte is closing in on a deal to instead face 20-year-old British sensation Moses Itauma on August 16 in Saudi Arabia.
It leaves the returning Deontay Wilder as another option for Joshua - who could be approaching his final year in the sport.
Hearn told DAZN: "Dillian Whyte was probably the frontrunner, to be honest with you. Now it looks like he's going to fight Moses - so that was a curveball.
"Jared Anderson's been mentioned, obviously Deontay Wilder's back soon.
"I think AJ would have been out the ring just over a year by the time he steps back into the ring.
"He will be coming off surgery, I don't think (Tyson) Fury's going to be ready to fight around that time anyway.
"But I expect it to be someone to gear him up for a really big fight in 2026. And probably, 2026 will be his last year in the sport."
Wilder is coming off a KO loss to Zhilei Zhang, 42, last summer having been stunned on points by Joseph Parker, 33, in December 2023.
And the 39-year-old now returns on June 27 in Kansas against little-known 24-5 Tyrrell Herndon - where he can look to revive the AJ fight once more.
'We never know' - Tyson Fury refuses to rule out comeback as Anthony Joshua nears new 'amazing' fight deal
Hearn added: "AJ-Wilder's a massive fight as well and I think because of the loss to Dubois, it makes the fight more palatable.
"Especially if Wilder can come back with a good win."
Fury, 36, was twice beaten by Oleksandr Usyk, 38, last year and announced his retirement in January a month after losing the rematch.
But Hearn still holds out hope the unpredictable Gypsy King will return to fight Joshua - setting up a swan song double header.
He said: "It's probably three fights away. For me, if I'm advising AJ, we're back this year, we have two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?
"Maybe fight a Daniel Dubois, but for me once AJ fights Tyson Fury, he's kind of done it all.
"I'd love him to have another crack at Daniel Dubois and I'd love him to have another crack at Usyk but you just keep going on and on and on.
"Now, if we get to next year and he's still firing on all cylinders then 2026 won't be his last year.
"But for me, something feels right about coming back this year, beating Tyson Fury twice and then sailing off into the sunset."
3
3
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
43 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE My daughter's DNA carried a family secret so evil, I feared my life would be in danger if I told the truth... Even after I exposed her real father, my nightmare wasn't over: STACE DON
Skipping through the park with a ball under my arm, I tried to ignore my feelings of unease. Aged seven, I was forbidden from coming to the park on my own. If my parents spotted me, they'd be so disappointed. 'I'm off to play football,' I called to my friend, running over to the other side of the pitch.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Louis Tomlinson and Sam Thompson seen in first awkward exchange on the Soccer Aid training pitch months after singer started dating TV star's ex Zara McDermott
Louis Tomlinson and Sam Thompson are seen in first awkward exchange as they finally come face to face for the first time at Soccer Aid training on Thursday. The men are both on the same England team for Unicef - the same charity Sam completed a 260-mile five-day long marathon for on Friday. And while Sam has insisted there are 'no hard feelings', the encounter is bound to sting a little, as he and former Love Islander Zara McDermott, 28, confirmed they had ended their relationship in January after more than five years together. Zara has since moved on pretty quickly with singer Louis, 33, with the smitten couple appearing inseparable since their romance was made public in March. Sam and Louis were spotted trying to avoid each other during training but the singer was caught giving the TV star a lingering stare while on the pitch. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. The pair were seen having a kick about with their fellow players wearing the same blue football kit. But it seems that Sam and Louis will still be keeping their distance from each other in the changing rooms as they have separated spaces. As Sam arrived at the three training days he put on a brave face for photos, while beaming Louis was captured arriving and making his way onto the pitch. And Zara showed her support for her new boyfriend Louis the night before, as she cooked the pair a 'creamy salmon pasta for dinner', as she captured the plate with the singers guitar noticeably in the background. Sam and former Love Islander Zara, 28, split after five years earlier this year and she has quickly moved on with Louis. The new couple have enjoyed a loved-up getaway at his home in LA and to Costa Rica together after Louis flew his new flame out to the island first-class. Meanwhile I'm A Celeb winner Sam has moved on with Love Island beauty Samie Eilshi, 25. After their blossoming romance was confirmed when they shared a steamy kiss in Mayfair last month, speculation of a split grew after Samie was noticeably absent from Sam's highly-publicised challenge for Soccer Aid last week. Such rumours have since been squashed however, with their romance reportedly going from strength to strength as they 'love spending time together on their days off', a source close to the couple told MailOnline. During an episode of their podcast Staying Relevant's last month, Pete Wicks, 37, teased Sam about the prospect of the potentially awkward encounter between him and Louis. The TOWIE star asked his co-host: 'You're really going through it with the whole f****** body and dieting and training loads. Is that for Soccer Aid?' But, not dropping the subject, Pete then asked: 'Any kind of people in there who you're looking forward to playing with?' 'Loads,' Sam laughed: 'Tom Grennan. I'm really looking forward to playing alongside Wayne Rooney, Tyson Fury's the manager. I can't wait'. Pete joked: 'I mean that's gonna be f****** amazing. Make sure you get him on side though because you may need him in your corner in case you fall out with anyone. Not that you will but just in case there's any rivalries or anything. 'You know, you have to train together and it's a lot, you know when you're kind of in close quarters with someone like that. All sorts gets brought up. Anyway...' Elsewhere singer Tom Grennan showed off his muscular physique in a fitted white T-shirt and blue denim jeans as he arrived for Soccer Aid training. Meanwhile former goalkeeper Joe Hart beamed as he posed for photos ahead of the game and Strictly star Gorka Marquez also arrived. It comes after Sam revealed he will be at Soccer Aid as he shared a new Instagram snap on Thursday after suffering a string of agonising injuries. Sam feared his legs will be the reason he won't be able to take part in the football game after his challenge last week - but it seems he is all ok to play as he arrived at training Elsewhere singer Tom Grennan showed off his muscular physique in a fitted white T-shirt and blue denim jeans as he arrived for Soccer Aid training Tony Bellew looked ready to play football in the game Love Island's Josh Denzel beamed ahead of meeting the other players Meanwhile former goalkeeper Joe Hart beamed as he posed for photos ahead of the game The I'm A Celebrity winner posed for a mirror selfie at his home in Chelsea and revealed that he is heading to training ahead of the celebrity charity match on Sunday. Sam cut a cool figure in a black long sleeved top which he teamed with khaki cargos and white trainers. The Staying Relevant podcast star was all smiles as he snapped the selfie wearing a white rucksack and a pair of Dinelli sunglasses. He wrote: 'Off to Soccer Aid! What a 4 days its going to be!' As Sam made his way out of his home, he beamed for a snap with brother-in-law Ryan Libbey while carrying a large bottle of water to stay hydrated. Last week, Sam suffered a calf injury on the first day of his gruelling 260-mile Soccer Aid challenge for Unicef. Despite the TV personality fearing his legs will be the reason he won't be able to take part in the football game and insisting he is doing everything he can, it seems Sam might be able to play some of the game as he heads to training. On Tuesday, Sam shared another update, he wrote: 'Trying to get those legs right for soccer aid!! I WILL play a part [laughing face emoji]' A source later told MailOnline: 'Sam's role is going to remain as a player at Soccer Aid as no official change has been made yet. He is continuing to go training and get further physio.' Sam laughed and assured he's 'loving it' but 'no, it's not' for the game, to which Pete continued: 'Are you sure it's not for Soccer Aid? How are you feeling? You're playing again. Must be really exciting.' Pete Wicks teased Sam about Soccer Aid 'rivalries' during a recent episode of their podcast He added: 'How do you feel about the line up? Do you think you've got a strong team?' Awkwardly laughing, Sam replied: 'Got a really strong team'. Sam and Louis will join the likes of Tyson Fury, Jill Scott, Grennan and Paddy McGuinness in the star-studded squad, while Wayne Rooney will step out of retirement as one of the managers. Sam may now have more time to pursue his romance with Samie, who recently opened up about their relationship for the first time. Sam first met Samie, who appeared on Love Island in 2023 and returned to the All Stars series this year, through his presenting role on Aftersun. Samie spoke about the blossoming relationship for the first time during an appearance on the Chloe Mediumship podcast. The show is hosted by a psychic medium and in the episode, the beauty revealed how she's previously had negative gut feelings in past relationships. She explained: 'I've had gut feelings with guys before. I've had a couple of relationships where I've known it was never it. Like this is gonna come to an end, I'll have something telling me every day it's coming to an end, this isn't for you. 'You put it to the back of your mind and then you start noticing the chaos increase. It's like the universe saying I'm gonna blow you both up if you just do not separate. Then I'm like if I only I listened all those months ago when I got that first message.' Then, host Chloe asked: 'Obviously, you don't have to talk about it too much but the guy you're currently speaking to, do you have that gut feeling? Like do you think it's gonna be really good?' Keeping her cards close to her chest, the former Love Islander replied: 'There's been no bad stuff at the minute so yeah I suppose it is all positive right now. It's early days.' Zara and Louis sparked relationship speculation at the start of this year before going public in March, three months after MailOnline revealed Zara and ex-boyfriend Sam had parted ways. Despite his heartache over Zara moving on so quickly, sources close to Sam exclusively told MailOnline at the time he holds no grudges against Louis over the new romance. A source close to the star said: 'Sam has no hard feelings towards Louis, that's for sure. 'As far as he's concerned, Louis is Zara's new man and he's just got to accept it. 'He's a positive guy and will just move on from this, throwing himself into work and getting stuck into the exciting projects he's got coming up. 'Obviously he was sad when their relationship broke up and, like anyone, when your ex moves so quickly it's tough. And if he was both angry and devastated, that would be understandable. 'But he's not sitting around wallowing in self pity, far from it.' Zara and Sam were together for five years before they split at the end of 2024 shortly after the Made In Chelsea favourite worked in Australia for I'm A Celeb spinoff show Unpacked. This year's Soccer Aid for Unicef match airs on the evening of Sunday 15 June on ITV1 and ITVX from Old Trafford, Manchester.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Man United make Cunha their first major summer transfer
Manchester United have completed the £62.5m transfer of Matheus Cunha from Wolves, marking their first major signing of the summer under Ruben Amorim 's management. Cunha, a boyhood Manchester United fan, has signed a five-year deal with an option to extend until 2031, expressing his delight at joining his favourite English team. The 26-year-old Brazilian forward scored 15 Premier League goals last season, and Manchester United anticipates he will significantly enhance their forward line. Manchester United also made an initial £45m bid for Bryan Mbuemo, which Brentford rejected, and they missed out on Liam Delap, who joined Chelsea. Director of football Jason Wilcox highlighted Cunha's proven Premier League success and dynamic qualities as key reasons for prioritising his signing.
