Who will Anthony Joshua fight next?
Coming off the back of a Gold Medal triumph at the London 2012 Olympics, Anthony Joshua entered boxing's professional ranks at a time when the heavyweight division had gone stale with a lack of character and quality.
Joshua seemed to inject some much-needed star power into the weight class with his brutal knockout power, incredible physique and marketability.
With Matchroom Boxing and Eddie Hearn behind him, as well as the colossal broadcasting platform Sky Sports, it seemed no one would stop 'AJ' on his way to the pinnacle of the sport. For a long time, that looked to be true.
After knocking out Alexander Povetkin in front of 70,000 fans at Wembley Stadium in 2018, it seemed the only feat 'AJ' had not yet achieved was becoming the Undisputed Heavyweight World Champion. To do that, he would need to defeat the WBC Champion, Deontay Wilder.
The fight never came to fruition, with Wilder instead opting to fight a returning Tyson Fury. Meanwhile, Anthony Joshua found himself in a clash with Andy Ruiz Jr. in his US debut after his original opponent, Jarrell Miller, was banned for drugs.
This marked the first setback of Anthony Joshua's otherwise flawless career. He was humiliated by Ruiz Jr., being knocked down four times on his way to a stoppage defeat.
Watch the full Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. fight here:
Although Joshua redeemed himself in the rematch, he has since suffered another loss at the hands of Oleksandr Usyk in his most recent outing. This time, it looks as if 'AJ' will not get a chance to make amends, with Usyk having returned home to Ukraine to help in the fight against a Russian invasion.
For the first time in his career, Anthony Joshua finds himself without the ability to pick and choose his opponents. Instead, he must wait to be chosen if he wants to regain his Heavyweight Champion status.
Is Tyson Fury the best fight out there for Anthony Joshua?
An all-British heavyweight super-fight with 'The Gypsy King' Tyson Fury would most likely be Joshua's preferred option. Not only for financial reasons, but also because Fury is widely considered to be the No.1-ranked heavyweight and he currently holds the only world title in circulation, the WBC belt.
A fight with Fury could catapult Joshua right back to the top of the division should he emerge victorious. Joshua would go into the fight confident of getting the win. He spoke to The Guardian about a sparring session when he was 20-years-old in which he gave Fury a beating:
"All I wanted was [Fury's] Rolex watch. He said before that spar: ‘If you can beat me or knock me out, you can have my Rolex watch’. I was hungry then and I am even hungrier now... That is what I did to him then, it was a good spar and I didn’t really know too much, it was just passion. Now I have some boxing IQ and passion, I know it will be a great fight."
'AJ' admitted that he never received the watch, despite winning the spar. Should he get the chance to fight 'The Gypsy King' in a professional setting, he would need to channel that same energy to beat the Tyson Fury of today.
Could Dillian Whyte be the right fight for Anthony Joshua to make his return?
Tyson Fury is currently occupied as he will be defending his WBC world title on April 23rd at Wembley Stadium against his mandatory challenger, Dillian Whyte, who Joshua has also recently expressed interest in fighting.
Speaking in an interview with iFL TV about Whyte's upcoming world title shot, Joshua said:
"This is his first time fighting for a title. I’m rooting for Dillian, even though I hate him. I want to smash him one of these days. Go on, Dillian, go all the way."
This caused some back and forth over social media between the pair, with Dillian describing Anthony Joshua as the "number 1 bullsh*t guy," which only adds to the build-up if these two do meet in the ring once again.
Joshua and Whyte first came together back in 2015 in what was a breakout fight for both men, but it was Joshua who came out on top. After recovering from being hurt himself, Joshua demonstrated his devastating knockout power to leave Whyte sprawled against the ropes as the referee waved off the fight in the seventh round.
Watch the full Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte fight here:
Since then, both men have come on leaps and bounds, defeating a number of top ten heavyweights between them. They both now show a maturity in the ring that was not apparent during their first meeting, which should make for a much more high quality fight this time around.
Will we finally see Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder meet in the ring?
The final realistic option for Anthony Joshua would be a long-overdue encounter with Deontay Wilder.
Joshua and Wilder almost met in what would have been an undisputed clash back in 2018. Wilder even offered 'AJ' $50 million at one point, but boxing politics caused negotiations to crumble and the fight never materialized.
Deontay Wilder tells Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua to look out for his $50 million offer in their email inboxes:
.@anthonyfjoshua Mate! I sent this personally this time just so there’s no miscommunication. Tell @EddieHearn to let you personally check his email this time. BTW I sent Your manager Rob McCracken the email as well. I’m looking forward to our meeting in the ring. #KingVsKing https://t.co/WbH8SB5Qm5
The timing of this fight could not be better as both men are looking for a way back into the fold following defeats. The in-ring action would speak for itself, as both of these men have tremendous power and frames.
There is the slight issue with Wilder flirting with retirement ever since his defeat in his trilogy fight with Tyson Fury. However, in boxing, money talks and if 'The Bronze Bomber' was presented with a lucrative deal to fight Joshua, it would be very hard to turn down.