Amid continued links to a whole host of eye-catching fights in his heavyweight return, don’t expect Anthony Joshua to land himself a high-profile foe next, however.
Still sidelined since the final quarter of last year, Watford native Anthony Joshua suffered a blistering knockout loss in pursuit of the IBF heavyweight crown, in the form of a defeat against compatriot Daniel Dubois.
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And seeing his career resurgence halted in his loss to Dubois, Joshua had racked up an impressive run of four straight wins, including knockouts of Francis Ngannou, as well as Otto Wallin and Robert Helenius.
However, in his prospective 2026 return, don’t expect Joshua to share the ring with an overly recognizable name.
Eddie Hearn rules out big fights for Anthony Joshua next
Hoping to carefully put together the return of former two-time heavyweight world champion Joshua, Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has laid out a laundry list of names he doesn’t expect the Olympian to fight next.
Amid links to a potential blockbuster outing in Africa against fellow Olympic gold medal winner Tony Yoka, Hearn was quick to shut down those rumors, revealing talks have not been held for that pairing.
Furthermore, the Dagenham native claimed fans should not expect Joshua to fight the likes of Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury next — the latter for the time being anyway.
“There’s been no conversation with him [Tony Yoka] about the fight, but it’s not going to be (Tyson) Fury, (Oleksandr) Usyk, (Daniel) Dubois, Moses (Itauma), (Joseph) Parker, it’s just not going to be one of those guys next,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“If there was a way to win a world title, it would be amazing to see him become a three-time world heavyweight champion,” Hearn explained.
And while Hearn is adamant Fury will not come next for Joshua, he has reiterated plans to finally get the two together for next summer in an overdue clash.
Eddie Hearn provides update on Tyson Fury vs. Anthony Joshua
Revealing he still hopes to put together a fight between Fury and Joshua as soon as next year, Hearn claimed in his 2026 boxing wish list that he believes there is a world where the long-time rivals finally settle their differences.
And in a rather positive update, Hearn claimed as soon as next summer, he was hopeful of booking Joshua’s sophomore fight of the year against the former WBC heavyweight champion.
“We’ve got to choose carefully for the next fight, and I think the best way in all of this is just to be honest and say the next fight will be a comeback fight to build into a roll of the dice next summer,” Hearn said.
“We want that to be against Tyson Fury. If it’s not, it’s going to be a massive fight.”