Hearn Outlines Joshua’s Next Steps – ‘Become A Three-Time Champ’
Eddie Hearn outlined Anthony Joshua’s next steps as fans are eagerly waiting for the announcement of his next fight.
Joshua suffered a knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in his last fight, missing out on the opportunity to become the IBF Heavyweight Champion. Joshua hit the canvas several times as Dubois stopped him in the fifth round. There were talks over a rematch with Dubois. But Dubois agreed to face Joseph Parker on February 22. Dubois eventually pulled out of that fight after suffering an illness. He is now likely to fight Oleksandr Usyk for the Undisputed Heavyweight Title in the summer, provided an agreement can be reached.
Joshua was expected to face Tyson Fury. Fury is the former WBC Heavyweight Champion, who is coming off two losses against Usyk. Those defeats meant that Fury missed out on becoming the Undisputed Heavyweight Champion. After the second Usyk loss, Fury announced his retirement from the sport. That prevents a Joshua fight from going ahead, as fans may have missed out on the biggest domestic fight. There is still an opportunity to make that fight, provided Fury feels he is ready to come back.
However, if that is not the case, Joshua may target other fights. He could take on Derek Chisora. Chisora secured a victory against Otto Wallin in his last fight. He dropped Wallin numerous times on his way to a unanimous decision win. That took his record to 36 wins, with 13 defeats. Chisora has said he will retire after his 50th bout, meaning he has one more left. After the Wallin win, Chisora mentioned Joshua as one of those opponents.
Hearn Reacts
They are very close friends, meaning a fight could get made. Alternatively, there is the opportunity to face Agit Kabayel. Kabayel is coming off an impressive victory over Zhilei Zhang. He won via a sixth-round stoppage. Kabayel is seen as the future of the heavyweight division. A victory for Joshua would take him closer to a title shot. Regardless of who he faces, the aim is to become a three-time heavyweight champion before he retires.
“The plan for Joshua hasn’t changed. Before he retires he wants to become the heavyweight world champion again, and become a three-time champion, so he is going to want to go after whoever has the belt. Listen, Joshua will never turn down any fight – that’s not the man he is. I get that everyone wants to know about AJ’s next moves, but we haven’t had that conversation yet.
“There will be plenty of time for these types of conversations. There is no secret that he wanted the Tyson Fury fight – but now he is retired then he has to go for the world championship. hey may be having that conversation? If they fancy it themselves there will be plenty of interest and money involved so I wouldn’t be one to get in the way. You can never really predict Derek,” Hearn said
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