Joshua’s Next Fight Moves A Step Closer

Eddie Hearn said he would like Anthony Joshua’s next fight to be either Daniel Dubois or Tyson Fury. 

Joshua’s next opponent is no clearer following his loss to Dubois in his last bout. Dubois dropped him numerous times as AJ suffered a shock defeat. It was a major upset since Joshua looked back to his best since teaming up with Ben Davidson. He had stopped Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou in the fights before, fuelling the narrative that AJ was back. Joshua was clear that he was not going to retire.

There were suggestions that he would rematch Dubois immediately, but there was no official announcement. Hearn also said the Tyson Fury fight was the biggest bout out there. However, The Gypsy King announced that he had retired following his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk. That leaves Joshua with a decision to make moving forward in the future.

Dubois was targeting a fight against Usyk for the undisputed title. However, the WBO has ordered Usyk to defend his title against Parker, as fans wait to see what happens. Joshua is suffering from an injury and will not be back until the late summer. That has left the Brit with plenty of time to decide where his next fight comes from, as Hearn gave an insight into what could happen moving forward.

Hearn Reacts

“So if he doesn’t fight one of those two guys, he has to fight someone, and he’s going to want to fight someone in the top 10. And Joseph Parker right now is on one of the hottest runs. I mean, if Dubois doesn’t fight (Oleksandr) Usyk, I’d like to see Dubois fight Parker as well, because I think Joe deserves a shot at a world heavyweight title. But, obviously, if there’s a big unification fight for undisputed, then Joe is going to need another dance partner, and maybe it’s a Joshua rematch,” Hearn said 

The Parker fight would be a good test to see where Joshua’s level is at. Joshua beat Parker in their first bout to become the WBO Heavyweight Champion. Joshua would later unify before losing his belt to Usyk. Since Joshua’s loss, Parker has rebuilt his career to become a top contender again. Following his loss to Joe Joyce, Parker went to rebuild and secure huge wins. He defeated Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, and Martin Bakole. A win would put Joshua in a mandatory position to face Usyk, giving him the chance to face the Ukrainian again. Ben Davidson has said he is confident he can help Joshua beat Usyk if they ever faced off again. 

“Being selfish, I’d really like to put that Usyk fight right for him. I don’t know if that’s even doable. But that’s something that I would love to help him do. That’s something I said to him first when came down to the gym, that I’m really confident that we’d be able to help him put that right,” Davison said