Anthony Joshua could retire from boxing sooner than anyone imagined
The British star has not fought since suffering a brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois - and his promoter believes the two-time champion is entering his last year as a professional
Anthony Joshua could be heading into the final year of his career - with Eddie Hearn targeting TWO Tyson Fury fights before his star client calls it a day.
Joshua has not fought since he was brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois last September at Wembley Stadium. It seemed likely the pair would go head-to-head in an immediate rematch. However, after coming away from the first contest with a few minor injuries, it meant the 35-year-old was unable to jump straight back into a sequel.
The two-time heavyweight world champion is currently recovering from an elbow surgery and is plotting a return to action before the end of the year. As of yet, though, there is no front-runner regarding his next opponent. Joshua's promoter, Hearn, revealed a comeback fight is being targeted between October-December - with Dillian Whyte initially being their first choice of opponent.
However, the boxing veteran now looks set to fight undefeated rising star Moses Itauma on August 16 in Saudi Arabia. With Joshua entering his twilight years, Hearn has opened up on the Brit's future. Speaking on the Ariel Helwani Show, he said: "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.
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"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."
Despite their respective careers being at a crossroads, Hearn insists Joshua vs Wilder is still a big fight. The 'Bronze Bomber' has not fought since suffering a knockout defeat to Zhilei Zhang last summer but is set to make a return to action later this month against Tyrrell Herndon "AJ-Wilder's a massive fight as well and I think because of the loss to Dubois, it makes the fight more palatable," said Hearn. "Especially if Wilder can come back with a good win."
That said, there is one fight Hearn would love to see above all. The boxing promoter is still holding out hope that Fury will make a retirement U-turn and fight Joshua. The 'Gypsy King' announced his shock retirement from the sport earlier this year. That said, he has been teasing a return over the last few weeks.
"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."
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