Anthony Joshua’s career is awaiting his next opponent after suffering a brutal loss to Daniel Dubois in his last fight.
‘AJ’ had revived his career after losing to Oleksandr Usyk, but then things came crashing down again after being easily beaten by Dubois.
If Joshua had won that bout, he would have been in prime position to challenge for world titles once again and a blockbuster meeting with Tyson Fury was on the cards.
But he lost, and now he’s on the lookout for his next opponent as he tries to rebuild his reputation again…
Anthony Joshua next fight
Joshua’s next fight is still in the works.
After losing to Dubois, he immediately called for a rematch and the pair were looking set to meet in February 2025.
However, AJ has been ruled out of that date due to injury despite him wanting to meet his British rival again.
His promoter Eddie Hearn said: “We had a very awkward call. He wanted to fight on February 22 and basically was told that there is no way you can start camp and be 100% for February 22, physically.
“There’s nothing major. There are two or three issues that he had a little bit in camp but also after the fight as well.
“And they said you need to come back in May-June and he didn’t want to do it.
“He wanted to fight on February 22 but unfortunately we kind of had to overrule him on this and say no because we can’t afford not to get this right.
“If you get beaten again by Daniel Dubois you have to seriously consider your future.
“We got one last chapter in this career that we need to make sure we get 100% spot on.
“So when he comes back in May or June or whenever that’s gonna be you got to be physically mentally 100% ready. He wants to rematch Daniel so bad.”
So Hearn believes Joshua will return to the ring in May or June of 2025, but negotiations with Dubois have tailed off.
It means he’ll need to look for another opponent and that could be Fabio Wardley, according to Frank Warren.
The promoter said while discussing his clients’ next bouts: “If AJ wants a fight, maybe fight Fabio.”
Wardley’s destructive performance against Frazer Clarke earned him a top 10 spot in the Ring Magazine heavyweight rankings and he is now poised to take on a world-level opponent.
He is willing to take on all comers and currently doesn’t have a clear path towards his next fight.
“Who I want to fight next is an interesting question because it is not about ‘Oh I want to fight you’ it is about ‘Who is going to set me up to be in the best position’,” Wardley admitted.
“It’s not necessarily about the person, it’s about who is in the right position for me to take their place for where I’m next in line to fight for a world title.”
Of course, as well as that, a highly-anticipated fight with huge rival Fury will also be tipped and it’s one that the ‘Gypsy King’ is up for at any point in his career.
He is likely to remain an option for Joshua irrespective of any of their results given their rivalry for several years, which is yet to culminate into a ring meeting.
AJ is expected to wait until after Fury faces Usyk in their rematch to make a decision on his next opponent.
So it is possible that their long-awaited clash could happen and Fury is certain that one day they’ll meet in the ring.
He said: “Joshua knows he’s getting it. Even if we’re 50 years old he’s got to fight me.
“There’s no escaping it, he cannot escape me.
“Even if we are 50, we’re still going to sell out Wembley.
“That is a fact, anybody, they can all get it.”
