Fury off radar: Joshua sets sights on next opponent
Photo: Anthony Joshua aims for title shot (instagram.com/anthonyjoshua)
British promoter Eddie Hearn, head of Matchroom Boxing, made a surprising statement regarding the future fight of his fighter, former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua (29–4, 26 KO), according to Boxing Social.
The title is more important than the show
Hearn suggested that Joshua would prefer a fight with Fabio Wardley rather than Tyson Fury. According to the promoter, his fighter’s main motivation is to become world champion again:
"That’s the world heavyweight title. That’s actually AJ’s preference over Tyson Fury. AJ would love to win the world heavyweight title again.''
At the same time, Hearn noted that the organizer of a potential Fury fight, Turki Al-Sheikh, is unlikely to consider Wardley as an option.
Hearn added that if Wardley were offered first and Fury later, Joshua “would have absolutely no problems taking that ASAP.”
Triumphant return of the former champion
On December 19 in Miami, USA, Joshua confidently defeated showman Jake Paul, knocking him out in the sixth round. It was the British boxer’s first fight in 15 months.
With this victory, he closed the chapter on a failed title fight against Daniel Dubois in September 2024. Now, Joshua aims to regain champion status – and according to Hearn, title ambitions remain the main driving force behind his decisions.
Who is Anthony Joshua
The 36-year-old British boxer is a native of Watford.
He was the 2012 Olympic champion in the over-91 kg category. He turned professional in October 2013. Joshua is a former world heavyweight champion under IBF, WBA, and WBO.
In October 2014, he won the WBC International title. In April 2016, he became IBF world champion. A year later, by knocking out Wladimir Klitschko, he claimed the WBA title. In March 2018, he won the WBO belt, defeating Joseph Parker.
In June 2019, he lost all titles after a shock knockout by Andy Ruiz. In December of the same year, he regained the belts with a unanimous decision in the rematch.
In September 2021, he lost all his trophies to Oleksandr Usyk by unanimous decision and later lost the rematch by split decision.
He had only one more championship opportunity: in September 2024, he fought Dubois for the IBF title but lost by knockout in the fifth round.
