Eddie Hearn says it’s a “50-50” possibility that Anthony Joshua will fight before the end of the year. He states that if AJ fights, it’ll just be a simple “runout fight” and an undercard fight, not a headliner.
No Risky Opponents for Joshua
That’s a big hint from the Matchroom promoter Hearn that Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) won’t be fighting anyone with even a slight chance of causing him problems. That means you can pretty much rule out these four:
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Guido Vianello
- Martin Bakole
- Tony Yoka
A younger version of Joshua could be safely matched against those fighters without too much worry. However, where he’s at now, at 35, coming off a devastating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and a 13-month layoff, it would be insane to match him against any of the above fighters.
Vianello Calls for Rome Showdown
The 2016 Olympian Vianello (14-3-1, 12 KOs) called out AJ following his fifth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Alexis Barriere last Saturday night, October 11, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The big 6’6″ Italy-born Vianello, 31, wants to fight Joshua at The Coliseum in Rome. That would be a great atmosphere, but too risky for AJ.
Not a Headliner — Just a “Runout Fight”
“If he fights this year, it’ll just be a runout fight, because coming back in a tough fight after being out for a year and a half, it’s not always that easy,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about the possibility of Anthony Joshua fighting before the end of 2025.
It’s safe to say that whoever Joshua does fight next, it won’t be anyone with punching power that has any shot at denting his chin. That pretty much rules out any of the top-tier contenders, because most of them have power, and they’re younger than Joshua.
Rebuild Fails to Restore Confidence
Hearn had already put Joshua through a four-fight rebuild job following his 12-round split decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk in their rematch on August 20, 2022. AJ exhausted two years of his career, fighting these fringe-level fighters to revitalize him: Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin, Francis Ngannou, and Jermaine Franklin. It didn’t work. When Joshua stepped up against Dubois last year in September 2022, he was destroyed.
Fury Fight Still the Target
“It’s not about the money this year. It’s about wrapping your hands and going in and sticking it on someone’s jaw. Then getting back in camp and getting ready for another one, and fighting Tyson Fury. So, it’s 50-50 whether he fights this year. But if he will, he’ll be added to a card. He won’t be headlining,” said Hearn.
What Joshua needs is a tall slapper that can emulate Fury’s fighting style. However, it’s pointless for Hearn to plan as if the fight against ‘The Gypsy King’ will happen when he has not said a word about returning to the ring to fight him.
If he does agree to fight Joshua, he might want a fortune to face him. Is he really worth it? Fury has lost his last two fights against Usyk and looked older than his chronological age of 37.
Unless Tyson can find the Fountain of Youth to drink from, we’re going to see a similar lackluster performance from him against Joshua if the fight even happens. Mentally, he doesn’t seem to be into fighting anymore after losing twice to Usyk. Also, he made a lot of money from those fights. His purses for the first and second fights are reported to be $105 million and $94.4 million, respectively.
