What next for Anthony Joshua? When will ‘AJ’ return and who could he fight?

A year has passed since Anthony Joshua last fought, with this absence from the ring officially the longest of the Briton’s professional career.

Not since 2020, a year afflicted by the most-intense phase of the Covid pandemic, has Joshua gone 12 months or more without fighting. And that year, he was out of the ring for 12 months and five days, whereas he is now 13 months removed from his last bout and is at least two months from competing.

So, with Joshua turning 35 on Wednesday (15 October), having been brutally knocked out by Daniel Dubois in his last fight, and with his spell out of the ring ongoing, his next move is a crucial one.

Time is slowly running out to book a super-fight with his longtime, distant rival Tyson Fury – who is planning on unretiring – or to become a three-time world heavyweight champion. Yet either of those opportunities would be a dangerous one, so perhaps a less-risky outing is more sensible decision, to build towards such a fight.

Let’s look at what’s next for “AJ”, when, and what is at stake...

When will Joshua fight next?

In recent weeks and months, the message from Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been that Joshua will return in early 2026. However, as Independent columnist Steve Bunce noted this week, there have been murmurs of a Joshua bout at the end of December.

A key reason for the delay is that Joshua underwent elbow surgery in May, with Hearn hinting that he might also need to address another injury thereafter. It is unclear why AJ did not have his elbow surgery earlier, given it ultimately took place eight months after his loss to Dubois; and there has been no word on Joshua getting his other injury taken care of.

Who could he face?

Of course, the dream fights for Joshua fans have long been an all-British showdown with Fury and a knockout-guaranteeing clash with American Deontay Wilder. Indeed, Wilder’s manager Shelly Finkel recently raised the prospect of his fighter facing Joshua, again.

However, despite each of the Fury and Wilder bouts having been so close to materialising on separate occasions, we’re back in a familiar spot: with Joshua and both of those boxers seemingly likely to have a warm-up fight first. Who, therefore, is a realistic foe for Joshua?

Well, Dave Allen – promoted by Hearn – talked up the potential of a match against Joshua last week, and it became a key part of the narrative ahead of his fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov. However, with the Russian overcoming Allen on points on Saturday, talk has now turned to the possibility of Joshua vs Makhmudov. As Bunce wrote in these pages on Monday, it is “a fight that could so easily be made and sold” and would “serve as an ideal warm-up fight for something big next year”.

In this way, Makhmudov has almost replaced Tony Yoka, the French Olympian who was linked to Joshua this summer. That said, it is worth stressing that Hearn’s Matchroom colleague Frank Smith said at the time: “I’m not sure where that has come from.” Talksport’s Spencer Oliver suggested the pairing made sense, and it seems the boxing world might have run with that idea, rather than Joshua vs Yoka ever actually being discussed by key figures. It is also worth saying there was a period in the last 12 months when Joshua was linked to Agit Kabayel, but there has been little said on that pairing in recent months.

A world-title fight is almost certainly not next for Joshua, especially with his two-time conqueror Oleksandr Usyk holding all the major titles. However, the Ukrainian could be stripped of the WBO belt soon, and the winner of an interim-title contest between Fabio Wardley and Joseph Parker on 25 October could make sense for Joshua – who beat Parker back in 2018.

The outside bet is Jake Paul, who was legitimately in discussions to face Joshua before opting to fight Gervonta Davis. That exhibition bout between the YouTuber-turned-boxer and the lightweight world champion is scheduled for 15 November, with Paul insisting that the Joshua match-up can be revisited.

What is at stake?

If Joshua were to box Paul, his entire legacy would be at stake, although very few in the boxing sphere would give Paul, 28, a shot against the former world heavyweight champion.

In a likelier match-up with Makhmudov, Joshua’s legacy would not be at stake but his present reputation would be. Makhmudov, 33, was one of the most-feared heavyweights in the world two years ago, but Kabayel took him apart in December 2023 and the Russian lost again soon thereafter. His win over Allen in Sheffield was crucial, but his performance will have given fans confidence that Joshua could still dispatch him – a prediction that Allen made himself.

If Joshua is to secure a fresh world-title shot or even edge closer to one, he needs to be knocking out the likes of Makhmudov with relative ease. However, there is an argument that looking too good in such a bout could lessen his chances of fighting Fury or Wilder, who might not want to risk a knockout loss to AJ at this stage.

Either way, the coming months could be as intriguing as they are important for Joshua.