It’s been a heck of a long, long time since British superstar, former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua boxed on an undercard, but this is what AJ could do next. Eddie Hearn, speaking with Ring Magazine, said that it is “50-50” whether or not Joshua fights again before the end of the year, and that if he does box again in 2025 he could perhaps feature in an eight-rounder on somebody’s undercard.
Hearn, who said that next year will likely prove to be “the last roll of the dice” for Joshua as far as getting the big fights, said that Joshua being allowed to fight down the bill some place would give him a no-pressure chance to “get in the flow again.”
Hearn’s Plan: Low Pressure, Big Rebuild
Hearn said Joshua, who just turned 36, could box TBA on a card in either California or in Riyadh.
“I think it’s probably 50-50 that he will fight again this year,” Hearn said of his star fighter. “Sometimes I mention these things and it goes crazy but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense from a boxing point of view (for AJ to box on an undercard and not be the star of the show). Not so much for a money or commercial point of view. But every time Joshua fights it’s a massive occasion, out in a big stadium somewhere. But if he goes on an undercard somewhere, it gives him the chance to get in the flow again and it would be very beneficial to his career. All we’re trying to do is get ourselves geared up for probably the last roll of the dice in his career and he’s got to be ready.”
Hearn, who added how Joshua is in the gym and would be ready to fight at two week’s notice, still wants the massive Joshua-Tyson Fury fight to happen, this next year in a huge stadium. But before then, it could be a major rewind for AJ, to when he was an up-and-coming fighter boxing down the bill.
Who Could AJ Face in an Eight-Rounder?
As for who the man in the other corner could be if Joshua did box a low-key tune-up bout, Hearn put it like this:
“Just go on Boxrec, look at the heavyweight top 100, look outside the top 20, and Joshua’s opponent will be in there,” Hearn said.
Looking at the heavyweights Boxrec have ranked outside their top 20, we see guys like Guido Vianello (who recently called out AJ), Damian Knyba, Ryad Merhy, Kevin Lerena, Tony Yoka (who was recently being talked about as a possible Joshua foe) and others. Might Joshua face one of these fighters in an eight-rounder at the end of the year?