Anthony Joshua came face-to-face with former heavyweight champion Mahmoud Charr in a charged stare-down, as promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed plans for a two-fight deal to mark the Briton’s comeback.
The 35-year-old former world champion has been out of action since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September, further sidelined by an elbow injury that required surgery. However, Hearn revealed that talks with Saudi boxing leader Turki Alalshikh and Riyadh Season are underway for a pair of upcoming bouts as Joshua plans his return to the ring.
“We are actually discussing a two-fight deal with Riyadh Season,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “We’ve been doing that. Turki Alalshikh mentioned it during the Canelo-Scull event when we had our meeting, and that’s the plan. We want to box sometime this year—October, November, or December.”
Lebanon-born German Charr, who changed his name from Manuel to Mahmoud, hopes to position himself as a potential opponent for Joshua following their recent encounter in Dubai, where the British heavyweight was vacationing before heading to Oman.
During their face-off, the 40-year-old Charr declared, “There’s only one giant in Syria.” Charr, with a 34-5 record, previously held the WBA’s secondary heavyweight title but lost it to Kubrat Pulev in December and has not fought since.
Charr’s life and career were almost cut short in 2015 when he survived a drive-by shooting outside a kebab shop in Essen. The attack stemmed from an online feud with a Facebook troll, who had been posting videos of Charr’s losses on social media. After offering to meet the man in person, Charr became the target of an assassination attempt, which he miraculously survived. His shooter, Youssef Hassan, was later sentenced to five years in prison.
After undergoing two hip operations, Charr made an astonishing return to the ring just nine months later, capping off a remarkable comeback. However, he later required a double hip replacement surgery in 2017 at the age of 32.
Meanwhile, Hearn confirmed that Joshua’s camp is closely monitoring the heavyweight scene, particularly the upcoming rematch between Daniel Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk on July 19 at Wembley—two years after Dubois’s stoppage loss to the Ukrainian.
“We’ll see what happens with Dubois-Usyk. We’ll see what happens with Fury,” Hearn said. “If we don’t fight those guys, maybe we’ll fight one of them next year.”
Usyk recently claimed two victories over Tyson Fury last year, which led to the Gypsy King’s surprise retirement in January. Despite this, Hearn still hopes that Fury will return to face Joshua. Joshua, who underwent elbow surgery in May, is targeting a December return as he seeks to rebuild after his setback against Dubois, which reshaped the heavyweight division.
