Anthony Joshua has a rare chance to resurrect his boxing career after his second-round demolition of Francis Ngannou in Saudi Arabia.
Now 34, Joshua’s reputation was in tatters after his shock defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr and dual losses to Oleksandr Usyk, but victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Ngannou in the past year have allowed something of a recovery.
So what comes next for Joshua – a fight against Fury, someone else, or even retirement?
Who Joshua could fight next
Filip Hrgovic is available and as the IBF’s mandatory challenger, he has been waiting to fight Usyk for that belt. Usyk initially put that to one side after signing a deal to face Tyson Fury, and there has some been talk that the Ukrainian would have to vacate his belt if he did not take on Hrgovic.
With Usyk currently scheduled to fight Fury on 18 May, (postponed from 17 February) the Croatian heavyweight could therefore share the ring with Joshua in the meantime.
One other potential option for Joshua is Joseph Parker, the man he beat to claim the WBO title in 2018, and who won the WBO interim belt by beating Zhilei Zhang on the Joshua-Ngannou undercard.
A rematch with Dillian Whyte could also be on the cards – Joshua beat him by TKO in 2015 and they were scheduled to fight again in 2023 before Whyte returned a positive doping test, leading to the bout’s cancellation. Whyte has since been cleared of wrongdoing and is now free to resume his career.
Could Joshua fight Fury?
Joshua has long been linked with a fight against the fellow premier British heavyweight of his generation in Fury. The closest it came was in 2022, when they were primed to fight on 3 December before talks collapsed and Fury ended up meeting Derek Chisora instead.
After Saturday night’s fight in Saudi Arabia, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn hinted Fury-Joshua could be back on.
“His Excellency [Turki Al-Sheikh, chairman of the state’s General Sports Authority] said if we win this fight, we’ll fight the winner of Fury vs Usyk,” he said.
“You’re looking at the baddest man on the planet. On this form, there’s no man that can beat this man in the heavyweight division. Tyson Fury, please beat Usyk, you’ll get the biggest fight in the history of the sport.
“That was one of the most destructive knockouts I’ve ever seen. What I said would happen happened, he destroyed Ngannou. He’s a savage, a beast, I can’t wait for him to beat Tyson Fury.”
Yet this is still all speculation, and any potential fight between Joshua and Fury would not take place for some time, given Fury and Usyk have signed a two-fight deal.
When Joshua could retire
Joshua seemed very clear that he intends to keep fighting and appears to believe he’s close to, if not at, his best.
He has been training under former Fury coach Ben Davison for his past two fights, and credits Davison in part for his revival.
“The Ben Davison performance centre [is the reason for my improvement],” he said in Riyadh. “I’m hungry, stay hungry, and all that good stuff. I don’t know [if I’m coming into my peak]. It only takes one shot.”
But Joshua was clear he will not fight into his 40s, saying: “If that was me [losing], you’d be saying, ‘Joshua should retire.’ I don’t know if I’m in my peak.
“I’m pushing day by day, who knows where it will take me? In five years, I won’t be fighting no more, this will be a distant memory. I just want to fight. Yes, [the winner of Fury vs Usyk].”
“I’m going back to my cage and when they let me out, I’ll fight again.”