After Joshua’s loss to Daniel Dubois last September, a lingering elbow injury would not heal and eventually required an operation. That has kept the 35-year-old out of action but he has now resumed training.
His next fight back will most likely be in January or the start of February. He would not return to an immediate contest with a top-level heavyweight but will target a tune-up bout against world top-15 calibre opponent before pursuing the biggest names in the division.
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The ultimate target, though, remains Tyson Fury, a great all-British showdown that has so far eluded Joshua.
“Right now all that’s in my mind in an ideal scenario is to fight Tyson Fury next year. That’s the big focus,” Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter told Sky Sports.
“From a common-sense perspective the fight has to happen in 2026 but common sense and Fury’s decisions don’t always gel together. He’s got to want to come back.
“It’s a personal decision.”
It means there is no room for error in Joshua’s immediate return.
“We’ve got to choose carefully for the next fight and I think the best way in all of this is just to be honest and say the next fight will be a comeback fight to build into a roll of the dice next summer,” Hearn said. “We want that to be against Tyson Fury. If it’s not, it’s going to be a massive fight
“We need a top-15 guy [next]. It’s not going to be Fury, Usyk, Dubois, all of those top guys. We need someone so that AJ can come back in a competitive fight after being out for what will be over a year and get himself ready for what will be one last roll of the dice.
“A defeat now at this stage of his career would be devastating to those plans. So we need to get it right.”
Joshua will likely want to set the date for the next fight soon. “He’s back training and that’s a great sign,” Hearn noted. “A lot of the sites are talking about January or very early February. I wouldn’t say he’s in any rush.”
The comeback fight could be against an opponent like Tony Yoka, or the winner of the Efe Ajagba-Frank Sanchez IBF eliminator, with Ghana one of the potential destinations for the next bout.
“There’s been no conversations with [Yoka] about the fight but it’s not going to Fury, Usyk, Dubois, Moses [Itauma], Parker, it’s just not going to be one of those guys next,” Hearn said.
“If there was a way to win a world title it would be amazing to see him become a three-time world heavyweight champion,” Hearn added.
“At the moment Usyk has all the belts. There’s going to be some real fragmentation in the division because Parker’s the mandatory [for the WBO due next], the IBF have got the final eliminator pending for the mandatory. Usyk’s going to throw a belt away at some point.
“I think AJ’s in a good spot in that respect. At the moment it’s just about nailing the preparation coming back better than ever in the right fight to prepare yourself for what could be a final roll of the dice.”
While Joshua is entering the final stage of his career, that could still be extended beyond 2026.
“It depends on the performance. I always said that 2026 would likely be his last year in the sport. But now with the delayed comeback, probably [could go till] 2027. If he was to get beat in his next fight that would probably be it, because that’s a fight that he’s expected to win,” Hearn said.
“Then if it’s Fury or Usyk, Dubois, whoever it is. Any defeat it’s going to really make you consider your position.
“He wants to fight in big fights but he just wants to make sure that he’s ready for those big fights when they come.”
There is no guarantee Fury will bring his retirement to an end next year though.
“I think the minute you try and persuade him, is where it probably goes all wrong,” Hearn said of Fury. “You’ve got to let him do his own thing. When he’s ready and if he’s up for it, you’ll know about it.
“I think there’s a feeling that the fight will happen but we’ve been here so many times before and if you start trying to guess what Tyson Fury’s going to do next, it starts to become a very confusing game. But if he’s going to come back, I just don’t see what else you come back for.
“I don’t think he’ll go straight in for AJ. Hopefully he can get [his comeback] fight in early 2026 and then we’ll have ours and then we finally get it on. But who knows?”
He does, though, believe that Joshua still has a point to prove.
“Motivated. I think a lot of people are writing him off,” the promoter warned.
“He’s focused. There’s still plenty of drama left in this story yet.”
