Anthony Joshua has faced off with fellow heavyweight Mahmoud Charr as rumours of his comeback heighten.
Joshua is currently on a trip in Muscat, the capital city of Oman, following news this week of his negotiations for a two-fight deal with Riyadh Season, a series of events in Saudi Arabia, which has hosted some of boxing’s biggest fights.
‘AJ’ hasn’t fought since he suffered a devastating knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois last September at Wembley Stadium.
Dubois now faces Oleksandr Usyk in the same venue on July 19, as ‘DDD’ eyes the chance to become boxing’s first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis.
Since his defeat to Dubois, Joshua, 35, has been linked again to a historic return against Tyson Fury, who is also fresh off a defeat having lost consecutive bouts to Usyk in 2024.
However, ‘The Gypsy King’ admitted last week that he was ‘staying retired’ from the sport, so that fight is seemingly out the window for now.
Therefore, Joshua has been linked to a whole host of different names on the heavyweight scene that he could box in his return, including Dillian Whyte and Jared Anderson.
But another pugilist has now thrown his name into the mix, and that is Syrian-born German fighter Charr.
“There is only one giant in Syria.” he said when the pair came face-to-face in Oman.
Charr, 40, boasts a record of 34-5 with 30 KO’s, with his most notable bout being a defeat to Vitali Klitschko in 2012.
‘Diamond Boy’ made a return to boxing in December 2024 after a two-year lay-off, but lost to a unanimous decision against Kubrat Pulev, who has lost to Joshua at Wembley in 2020 and Derek Chisora two years later.
After Joshua’s deal with Fury collapsed in September 2022, Charr was named several times as a potential opponent, alongside names like Chisora.
Charr even claimed that he had signed a contract with Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, which enabled him to potentially fight Dubois or Joe Joyce too.
“I have signed an agreement to face the three heavyweight fighters of Frank Warren,” he said in 2022.
“Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois and Joe Joyce.
“I am ready to fight any of them but the first one I would pick is Tyson Fury. I want Tyson Fury.”
However, Fury decided to fight Chisora in the end and stopped ‘Dell Boy’ at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium in December 2022.
Fury’s decision was hardly a surprise, given Charr hadn’t fought an opponent live in seven years at the time, and the last time he did fight anyone of note, a cruiserweight viciously knocked him out.
Maybe Charr is in with a better chance with Joshua if ‘AJ’ wants an easier opponent to get himself back on track.
Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants to get the Watford powerhouse back into the ring by the end of the year, having mentioned October, November and December as potential months to return in.
Discussing potential opponents, Hearn added: “We’ll see what happens with Dubois-Usyk, we’ll see what happens with Fury.
“And if we don’t fight those guys, we’ll fight, and then maybe we’ll follow one of those guys next year.”
Hearn then confirmed that Whyte and Anderson are in the running as well.
“Two guys that have been discussed, but nothing concrete,” Hearn said of Whyte and Anderson.
Whyte’s mention doesn’t come as much of a surprise, considering the longtime history between the pair.
However, Joshua wouldn’t gain much from a victory over Anderson, and the same is definitely the case for Charr.
Ultimately, the fight every boxing fan wants to see is Joshua vs Fury.
