Rejuvenated, redesigned and self-confident once again, there is a genuine hope across the United Kingdom that Anthony Joshua can return to the heavyweight throne.
AJ would become just the fifth three-time champion in the history of the division if he was to overcome the mountains ahead of him, most likely in the form of Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk.
However, there are options outside of this, and AJ needs to carefully consider three potential bouts if he wants to continue his resurgence to the top the division.
From unsure to unstoppable
Anthony Joshua has had his critics over the past couple of years and rightfully so; taking his eye off of the ball against Andy Ruiz Jr and never appearing to be the same fighter since. Nonetheless, it’s hard to dispute ‘AJ’ being a true British boxing legend for breathing life into a dormant heavyweight division and bringing it back from the dead.
His devastating and destructive rise to heavyweight gold was as close as British fight fans will likely ever get to having their own Mike Tyson, until he and they were brought back to reality with the consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
The losses to Usyk were humbling. Two nights of being out-skilled appearing to have even more impact on Joshua’s mentality than the generational upset defeat to Ruiz – which arose questions in terms of his chin rather than his boxing ability. After eight months, the once ruthless superstar returned to the ring as a tentative shell of his former self, looking puzzled and unsure of his skills, but more notably appearing reluctant to exchange in fights against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, despite the appointment of a new trainer in Derrick James.
Something had to change, and it did. As Joshua announced a shocking move to work under the trainer of his domestic rival Tyson Fury, assigning Ben Davison with the role of rediscovering the fearless Joshua of old. Instantaneously, it seemed like a match made in heaven, as Joshua ran through Otto Wallin – a contender whose only loss came in a bloodied war with Fury, before taking on Francis Ngannou, who had lost a controversial split-decision to ‘The Gypsy King’ just five months prior.
The result – a two-round massacre. A knockout contender of the year. A signal to the rest of the heavyweight division that Anthony Joshua is back.
The waiting game
Still, regardless of Joshua’s decisive performance, ‘AJ’ will be forced to wait for a shot at Fury or a trilogy with Usyk, as the two champions prepare for a historic battle on May 18th to decide a first ever four-belt undisputed heavyweight conqueror.
However, it has been reported that newfound boxing catalyst Turki Al-Alshikh is lining up a clash between Joshua and the victor, regardless of the two-way rematch-clause that has been installed in the initial contract.
As a result, the risk of taking an alternate fight while an undisputed champion is determined could come back to haunt Joshua. Should he choose to wait, he would be placing his trust in the hands of Al-Alshikh and pinning hopes on the neglect of the contracted rematch clause, which could ultimately prove to be unavoidable.
The IBF route and the path to the undisputed throne
Like many undisputed showdowns, the inevitably of imminent fragmentation is present in the match-up between Fury and Usyk, and the IBF heavyweight world title is expected to be vacated in the immediate aftermath of the bout. Widespread speculation suggests that a new heavyweight champion will be decided on the Beterbiev-Bivol undercard on June 1st, where mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic is poised to take on Daniel Dubois for the vacant belt.
Meanwhile, Joshua is well-ranked with the IBF and is extremely well positioned to take on the winner of Hrgovic-Dubois, in a fight that could take place before the end of the year, an appealing proposal when considering that the two Fury-Usyk affairs would likely mean Joshua is out of action until 2025 if he chose to wait it out.
As well as this route representing a relatively easier option for Joshua to become a three-time champion, it also enables the possibility of him achieving his goal of becoming the undisputed titleholder in the future, with the chance of unifying the division once again if he was to claim the IBF crown before facing either Fury or Usyk next year.
The importance of activity – should AJ fight this summer?
Eddie Hearn recently stated that Joshua’s very next fight will be for a world title, although Joseph Parker’s WBO interim belt could technically fit into that category. At present, Joshua is in the best form that we have seen for a number of years and that is likely due to his increased activity as well as his partnership with Ben Davison. Therefore the decision to wait for other fights to be decided could end up being a costly one.
The hard-hitting Londoner remains as one of the biggest draws in boxing and a fight, possibly even in the United Kingdom this summer could do him the world of good and help him maintain his form ahead of any potential world title bid. Yet, there remains an ever-present risk in rematching the ‘new’ Joseph Parker or even old foe, Deontay Wilder, when being so well positioned for world honours.
In the ever-changing heavyweight landscape, Anthony Joshua’s decision could prove to be a pivotal one for the division in 2024 and for his career as a whole but the clock is ticking for the 35-year-old and it is now or never, whilst his once forgotten dream of the coveted undisputed heavyweight title is well within his reach.