Eddie Hearn says it’s a “50-50” possibility that Anthony Joshua will fight before the top of the 12 months. He states that if AJ fights, it’ll just be an easy “runout fight” and an undercard fight, not a headliner.
No Dangerous Opponents for Joshua
That’s an enormous hint from the Matchroom promoter Hearn that Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) won’t be fighting anyone with even a slight likelihood of causing him problems. Which means you’ll be able to just about rule out these 4:
- Arslanbek Makhmudov
- Guido Vianello
- Martin Bakole
- Tony Yoka
A younger version of Joshua might be safely matched against those fighters without an excessive amount of worry. Nonetheless, where he’s at now, at 35, coming off a devastating fifth-round knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and a 13-month layoff, it could be insane to match him against any of the above fighters.
Vianello Calls for Rome Showdown
The 2016 Olympian Vianello (14-3-1, 12 KOs) called out AJ following his fifth-round knockout of previously unbeaten Alexis Barriere last Saturday night, October 11, on the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. The large 6’6″ Italy-born Vianello, 31, desires to fight Joshua at The Coliseum in Rome. That might be an ideal atmosphere, but too dangerous for AJ.
Not a Headliner — Only a “Runout Fight”
“If he fights this 12 months, it’ll just be a runout fight, because coming back in a troublesome fight after being out for a 12 months and a half, it’s not all the time that easy,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about the potential of Anthony Joshua fighting before the top of 2025.
It’s secure to say that whoever Joshua does fight next, it won’t be anyone with punching power that has any shot at denting his chin. That just about rules out any of the top-tier contenders, because most of them have power, they usually’re younger than Joshua.
Rebuild Fails to Restore Confidence
Hearn had already put Joshua through a four-fight rebuild job following his 12-round split decision loss to Oleksandr Usyk of their rematch on August 20, 2022. AJ exhausted two years of his profession, fighting these fringe-level fighters to revitalize him: Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin, Francis Ngannou, and Jermaine Franklin. It didn’t work. When Joshua stepped up against Dubois last 12 months in September 2022, he was destroyed.
Fury Fight Still the Goal
“It’s not concerning the money this 12 months. It’s about wrapping your hands and getting into and sticking it on someone’s jaw. Then getting back in camp and preparing for one more one, and fighting Tyson Fury. So, it’s 50-50 whether he fights this 12 months. But when he’ll, he’ll be added to a card. He won’t be headlining,” said Hearn.
What Joshua needs is a tall slapper that may emulate Fury’s fighting style. Nonetheless, it’s pointless for Hearn to plan as if the fight against ‘The Gypsy King’ will occur when he has not said a word about returning to the ring to fight him.
If he does conform to fight Joshua, he might desire a fortune to face him. Is he really price it? Fury has lost his last two fights against Usyk and looked older than his chronological age of 37.
Unless Tyson can find the Fountain of Youth to drink from, we’re going to see the same lackluster performance from him against Joshua if the fight even happens. Mentally, he doesn’t appear to be into fighting anymore after losing twice to Usyk. Also, he made numerous money from those fights. His purses for the primary and second fights are reported to be $105 million and $94.4 million, respectively.
Last Updated on 10/13/2025