By Barry Holbrook: Anthony Joshua plans for a quick turnaround to get back in the ring in November or December following his disappointing 12 round split decision loss to IBF, WBA & WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) last Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Surprisingly, Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) says his goal is still to become a three-time heavyweight world champion. For that to happen in November or December, Joshua will need to convince Usyk to give him a trilogy fight or face WBA secondary champion Daniel Dubois.
More than likely, Joshua will use his next fight as a tune-up to get him back on his winning ways before looking to fight for the world titles in 2023.
Options for Joshua’s next fight:
- Dillian Whyte
- Deontay Wilder
- Filip Hrgovic
- Joe Joyce
- Joseph Parker
“I will become three-time world heavyweight champion,” said Joshua after the fight.
“He threw the kitchen sink. He couldn’t have thrown more. The amount of punches he threw in the tenth round was incredible,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Oleksandr Usyk.
“I just couldn’t believe what he did in the championship rounds. He was frustrated.
“He’s held onto those belts for a long time, and those governing bodies have charged him a lot of money and put a lot of mandatories on him,” said Hearn about Joshua picking up the belts and throwing them out of the ring after the fight.
“I think he’s lost a lot of faith in the system, and he’s started actually not being interested in fighting for belts anymore. I think he wants to fight for enjoyment and to challenge himself.
“Of course, he wanted to be undisputed, and a lot of that was frustration. He left the ring because he knew, ‘I’m going to do something stupid here.’
“And then he thought to himself, ‘I can’t. It’s a bad look,’ so he went back in the ring and gave a speech, which was a little bit out there, but it was just pure emotion, and that was from the heart.
“He wants to fight everyone. Now he can start enjoying himself and getting active. He’s going to be involved in some massive fights, but let’s get active now and get back out in December,” said Hearn.