Anthony Joshua gave an update on social media today, saying he won’t fight until December. It means the former unified heavyweight champion Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) won’t be fighting three times this year, which will disappoint AJ’s fans in a big way.
On the positive side, Joshua not fighting until December could mean he’s decided against the idea of taking a tune-up against Dillian Whyte and will steam straight ahead to a mega-fight against Tyson Fury in the Middle East.
The Saudis have a stadium being built in their country, and it won’t be ready until November or December. For Joshua, it’s perfect for him to return in December to face Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) in a stadium fight in Saudi Arabia rather than taking a needless warm-up fight against Whyte because that’s a step down for AJ from his recent tune-up against Jermaine Franklin.
“My next fight is scheduled for December,” said Anthony Joshua on social media in an update on when he’ll be fighting next.
Joshua will have a lot of time to train with his new coach Derrick James in Dallas before his fight in December, and he should be more than ready to face Fury then.
You can argue that the top-level sparring that Joshua will get in the U.S. will be far more valuable to him to help him defeat Fury than facing the 34-year-old Whyte, who has looked like a shell of his former self in the last two years.
Joshua letting Fury fight Oleksandr Usyk in December in the Middle East would be a risk on AJ’s part because there’s a chance that the Gyspy King will lose that fight. Usyk’s mobile fighting style and accurate sniper-like shots will give the slow-moving, ponderous 260+ lb Fury significant problems.
Fury is no longer the young gazelle that defeated Wladimir Klitschko eight years ago. The years have not been kind to Fury, as he looks closer to 50 now than he does 35, and there’s a good chance he will lose to Usyk.
That’s why Joshua must take the fight with Fury in December while he still can because he’ll be useless to AJ if he gets humiliated by Usyk in a stadium fight in Saudi Arabia.
“In terms of getting him where he needs to be for those big fights, he definitely needs another fight,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show about Anthony Joshua.
“It’ll be beneficial for AJ to work with Derrick James. There are messages about Tyson Fury fighting in December in the Middle East.”
