Anthony Joshua in 'semi-retirement' as heavyweight waits for return

Daily Mirror

5 hours ago

The heavyweight star has not fought in nearly a year but is looking to return to the ring at some point in 2025 after having a successful operation on his elbow
Boxing legend Amir Khan believes Anthony Joshua is in 'semi-retirement' despite the Brit looking to return to the ring later this year. Joshua has not fought since suffering a brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois last September.
The pair looked certain to go head-to-head in an immediate rematch, but 'AJ' was not ready to fight soon after their initial encounter after sustaining some minor injuries in the bout. The 35-year-old recently had surgery on his elbow and is now looking to fight before the end of the year.
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Joshua seems to be enjoying life at the moment and was recently spotted with Khan in Ghana. The pair appear to be on good terms again after Khan accused the British heavyweight of sleeping with his wife. Following their brief encounter, the 38-year-old has stated that he believes Joshua's career is coming to an end.
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In an interview with Vegas Insider, he said: "He seems to be in semi-retirement. He's looking at all business opportunities and stuff like that, but he has done all of the hard work, AJ has done great things in the sport and has done it all.
"He is an Olympic gold-medallist, a former two-time world champion and I think he's one or two fights away from retiring or maybe one more fight and he'll call it a day but that's just my opinion. We all want to see the Tyson Fury fight, let's hope they can make it happen."
With Joshua looking to get back to winning ways, he is still hoping to one day go head-to-head with long-time rival Tyson Fury. The 'Gypsy King' retired earlier this year after suffering his second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. That said, he has teased a potential return to the ring over the last few weeks.
Many fans are still eager to see how the potential all-British heavyweight showdown would play out - with Khan quick to offer his verdict on the topic. "I hope Tyson comes back, he's a friend of mine and Turki Alalshikh always gets a big fight for him as well. The loser of Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois would be a good fight next for Tyson as a tune-up fight," he said.
"I have Daniel Dubois losing to Oleksandr Usyk and that would be a great comeback fight for Tyson as it is a fight still at the top (level) and then fight Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua which is the fight I want to see.
"There are a few good options still there for Fury because he is such a big name and has that backing. I think Fury takes the loser of Usyk vs Dubois and then fights Joshua or the king of the heavyweight division.
"With Fury and AJ, they have both had time out of the ring and I believe both fighters have a 50/50 chance of winning the fight. At first, I was favouring Tyson Fury but not anymore, I think it is a 50/50 fight. It is a fight where you can't say who is going to win because is it the power or the boxing IQ that wins the fight? It's hard to say."