Anthony Joshua’s return is said to take place at the end of the year, but one potential opponent will instead face a hungry young prospect instead of the British icon.
Anthony Joshua suffered his most devastating defeat yet at the hands of Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last time out.
The British former world champion was due to return this summer, but had his comeback delayed due to an ongoing injury.
In a recent interview, Eddie Hearn revealed an opponent Joshua was close to facing, but revealed that a prospect has snatched the fight from under their nose.
Anthony Joshua was going to fight Dillian Whyte before Moses Itauma entered talks with ‘The Bodysnatcher’
It has been revealed that on August 16th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Moses Itauma will likely step up against Dillian Whyte after his one-round blitz of Mike Balogun last time out.
Whyte, who Carl Froch says is done, is nearing the end of his career and may be looking to cash out against the young prospect before sailing off into the sunset.
In an interview with The Stomping Ground, Hearn said: “To be honest, if we don’t fight Fury this year, which sounds like it’s unlikely, we were probably gonna fight Dillian Whyte. Fair play to him, he went for the Moses fight instead.”
Whyte’s manager believes he can beat Itauma, though given his last few performances, many fans of the sport would disagree.
Dillian Whyte has had four fights, two withdrawals, and a positive PED test in the last three years
Whyte’s career is certainly near its end, and, owing to a positive PED test when he was meant to face Joshua for the second time, Whyte has suffered from inactivity.
Whyte lost to Fury in 2022, and hasn’t looked great since, edging a majority decision win over Jermaine Franklin before facing lackluster opposition in Christian Hammer and Ebenzer Tetteh.
Whyte withdrew from a fight with Joe Joyce, and then more recently withdrew from a fight with an unnamed opponent on Fabio Wardley‘s undercard.