There are, if you’re counting, a scant six weeks left of this year, 2025. By and large, aside from some superb ring action and a super fight or two, it’s been a pretty rough 2025 for the sport of boxing; what with the passing of far too many fistic legends to list appropriately in anything but, a, well, an appropriate and tribute-paying article (think Foreman, Haugen, McCallum, Qawi, and, sadly, others).
Riyadh and Japan Still Have Fire Left
But there could be some more exciting boxing action to come before this year reaches its end. We have a stacked card to look forward to in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later this month, and we will also be treated to the traditional stacked card in Japan during the holidays.
And now, for Anthony Joshua fans, there is good news in the form of how we will see AJ fight again before 2026 comes calling. According to Eddie Hearn, who was asked by Chris Mannix if we will see Joshua fight on any of the remaining 2025 cards to be promoted by Hearn, yes, AJ will feature on one of the remaining three fight cards left.
AJ Confirmed to Return in 2025
“You’ve got about three dates left [this year] by my count: November 15 (Eubank Vs. Benn II), December 13 (Pacheco Vs. Sadjo), and the December 27 show (Inoue Vs. Picasso, along with some strong support),” Mannix pointed out to Hearn. “Will we see Anthony Joshua on any of those shows?”
To which Hearn gave a short and sweet reply – “Yes,” the Matchroom boss said.
So, on which card will the former two-time heavyweight champ feature, and who will AJ fight as he returns from his September 2024 KO loss to Daniel Dubois? Hearn has said that there is a plan for Joshua to face a, shall we say, soft touch, or a safe foe, someone ranked outside of the world top 20, this as Joshua gets his tools sharp ahead of what could be a big, last-roll-of-the-dice 2026; with Hearn still holding onto a Joshua-Tyson Fury fight taking place.
Joshua’s Rebuild Continues Quietly
And Joshua is, of course, still a huge name, a star, and it would be good to see him get a round or two in this year. There is even a short chance that Joshua could fight Jake Paul in December. Paul, on the lookout for a new foe now that Tank Davis has found himself in more legal hot water, is still insisting he will fight Joshua and that he will beat him.
When asked again if AJ would be willing to step in for Tank and fight Paul, Joshua’s main man Hearn gave another short and sweet answer – “Just let me know where.”
How shocked would you be if Anthony Joshua did fight Jake Paul this year?