Anthony Joshua’s career is at something of a crossroads, on one hand – a huge payday against Jake Paul, on the other hand, a credible opponent to get back to world title ambitions.
Anthony Joshua has been out of the ring for almost a year now following his devastating loss to Daniel Dubois in front of a packed-out Wembley Stadium in late 2024.
Since then, ongoing injuries have delayed and postponed Joshua’s return to the ring, and despite rumors of a match-up with Dillian Whyte, Jared Anderson, Jarrell Miller, and more, there has been no confirmation on who Joshua will be facing next, though there does seem to be a couple of frontrunners.
Jake Paul is one of them, and Eddie Hearn has even stated that AJ vs Paul would be bigger than AJ vs Tyson Fury, though there is another who laments the fact he may lose his shot at the legendary name to a YouTuber.
Tony Yoka fumes at prospect of losing Anthony Joshua fight to Jake Paul
One name that continues to crop up when discussing Joshua’s next fight is Olympic Gold medallist, Tony Yoka.
Yoka won gold at the 2016 Olympics after defeating Filip Hrgovic and Joe Joyce.
Since then, he had a successful pro career up until May 2022, when things went drastically wrong for the 11-0 Frenchman.
In his 12th fight, Yoka lost to Martin Bakole in his home country by majority decision. The loss was a big one, but it was what followed that truly damaged his career.
After the Bakole loss, Yoka lost his next two fights in a row to Carlos Takam and Ryad Merhy, both as a result of his tentativeness and unwillingness to engage.
Now, after winning his last three, with the most recent win coming against 16-0 Arslan Yallyev, Yoka wants Joshua.
He told TalkSport how irritated he would be to lose out on the fight if Joshua opts to face Paul instead,
“I can’t believe that, like if they choose someone else to fight late this year, like a real heavyweight boxer, I will be okay. It is what it is, but not Jake Paul. Like, don’t say that kind of stupid stuff because it’s not like he’s 60 or 70 years old trying to make some money, he’s a real athlete.”
Yoka continued to blast AJ vs Paul, “I can’t believe he’s going to do some stupid thing like this.”
Molly McCann accused Joshua of selling his soul ahead of a possible Paul fight.
Anthony Joshua almost faced an old rival in conclusion to two-fight rivalry
Ahead of the fight with Yoka or Paul, or whoever it may be next, with AJ potentially sitting out 2025, fans will be treated to a heavyweight dust-up in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, between Dillian Whyte and Moses Itauma.
Whyte defeated Joshua in the amateurs, before AJ got his own back in a 2015 brawl for the British title.
A rematch between Whyte and AJ was scheduled, though a failed drugs test forced Robert Helenius to fill in for ‘The Bodysnatcher’.
Whyte claims the AJ rematch was offered to him once more, as was a rematch with Joseph Parker, but he opted to face the fierce young heavyweight in Itauma instead.