Following Tyson Fury’s second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk this month, all eyes are now on Anthony Joshua vs Fury, two heavyweights whose career trajectories were shaken by the Ukrainian P4P talent, and two British rivals who have been set to cross paths for years, though have yet to step in the ring together. However, after a brutal knockout loss to Dubois, many have suggested it’s time for Anthony Joshua retirement, with others saying the same of Fury after his losses to Usyk, could it now be the perfect time for the pair to face off?
Since becoming the figureheads of British boxing, a monster domestic clash has been at the forefront of the minds of British fans, and the pair have shared much back-and-forth over the years, with the fight once close to being made, before Tyson Fury was ordered to face Wilder for a third time.
Funnily enough, this derailment of AJ vs Fury is what led to Anthony Joshua instead taking a fight against Oleksandr Usyk, who went on to change the landscape of the heavyweight division, defeating four British heavyweights in as many years, doing the double on Fury and AJ, leading to calls for Anthony Joshua retirement.
Fury and Joshua first encountered one another when AJ was still an amateur, and Fury sparred the young Brit at his club in Finchley. Fury spoke highly of Joshua, and sung his praises in a radio interview, admitting that Joshua had gotten the better of him at times in their spar.
Back in the present, Joshua recently comes off a devastating stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois, following a multi-fight rebuild of his career after his losses to Usyk.
Interestingly, Oleksandr Usyk himself has predicted who will win if the pair lock horns.
Anthony Joshua Retirement Update
In an interview with IFL, Eddie Hearn has not spoken on Anthony Joshua retirement rumours, and has instead stated that Anthony Joshua will be ready to ‘resume training in January’, with his next fight set for May or June.
Hearn suggested Joshua will wait to see what happens with Dubois vs Parker, and whether Fury will want to fight, or will opt to hang up the gloves, as some suspect he might. Hearn was asked whether he’d ruled out an ‘in-between fight’ for Anthony Joshua, to which he said he isn’t, elaborating that if the Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker winner doesn’t want to fight him, and Fury doesn’t either, they have to fight someone, though he made no comment as to who that someone could be.
Hearn did, however, conclude, ‘the focus is Daniel Dubois or Tyson Fury’.
Anthony Joshua is set to fight twice in 2025, once in the Summer, and once in the Winter, with Dubois and Fury the targeted opponents.
Hearn said of the Fury fight: ‘Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury might not be as big as it could have been, but it’s still the biggest fight in boxing’.
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