Anthony Joshua is gearing up to fill Wembley Stadium once again this September, and his next opponent might be decided on Saturday night in Saudi Arabia. The two-time heavyweight champion has been on a winning streak since his two losses to Oleksandr Usyk took him out of the title picture. With four consecutive wins, Joshua has shown flashes of the destructive style that marked his early career.
While an all-British showdown with Tyson Fury remains a top priority, Joshua is primarily focused on reclaiming the world champion title. His path to the championship could become clearer in the coming weeks. Despite Usyk’s recent victory over Fury to become the undisputed champion, the IBF is likely to force Usyk to vacate its belt due to a rematch clause preventing him from fulfilling his mandatory fight against Filip Hrgovic.
Hrgovic is set to fight Daniel Dubois this Saturday, and promoter Eddie Hearn has mentioned targeting the winner for a match against Joshua for the IBF belt. Hearn stated, “AJ will fight absolutely anyone. I’ve never known him to say, ‘oh, I’d prefer to fight him.’ He basically said, ‘tell me who the opponent is and let’s go.’ He’ll fight Hrgovic, he’ll fight Dubois, he’ll fight Wilder, he’ll fight Fury, he’ll fight Usyk, he’ll fight Parker. He doesn’t mind.
“Obviously, the preference is to try and become world champion again. It’s very likely that the winner of Hrgovic against Dubois could fight AJ for the world heavyweight championship at Wembley. That would be very attractive.
“If Deontay Wilder wins in style on Saturday night, that’s going to be a fight that resurfaces as well. In this new boxing age, expect the unexpected, but Saturday will tell us a lot about AJ’s next opponent. And he’ll be here.”
Usyk’s team is reported to have submitted a request to change the IBF’s ruling, but Hearn believes the belt will still be stripped from Usyk in the coming months. “The ruling is Usyk has to fight Hrgovic next. We all know he’s not going to. So, he’s been waiting for the opportunity to fight for the title. It’s very likely that will become vacant.”
All eyes are now on Riyadh, especially for the Hrgovic-Dubois fight.
