Fury recently signed a contract to fight fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk and Joshua believes his domestic rival is purposely avoiding a fight with him,

Anthony Joshua has accused domestic rival Tyson Fury of “ducking him” after signing to fight fellow heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

Fury and Usyk could fight for the undisputed world heavyweight title in Saudi Arabia as soon as December 23 but ‘The Gypsy King’ will first have to get past former UFC champion Francis Ngannou on October 28. The pair meet in a crossover fight that will go on both of their professional records and Ngannou has vowed to ruin any chance of the undisputed world title fight taking place at the end of the year.

Joshua reacted to Fury’s upcoming fights by telling DAZN: “I wish I could balance this, cause he’s ducking. He’s definitely a duck. Whether he’s ducking me, not right now, but he’s definitely a duck. That’s facts, like you can’t deny he’s a duck. So if we’re gonna pull out the animal cards I’m pulling out a duck with Fury.”

Do you think Tyson Fury is ‘ducking’ Anthony Joshua? Let us know in the comments section below

Ngannou has claimed he will be forced to fight Fury again in the shocking event that he pulls off the upset, whilst there is also reportedly a two-way rematch clause for his undisputed fight against Usyk. Fury recently labelled Joshua as a “bum-dosser” and mocked his professional defeats to Usyk and Andy Ruiz Jr.

“I don’t really care what he says. He’s a bum in my opinion. He’s just one big bum-dosser that has been knocked out three times. He’s been knocked out twice [once] and had three losses. He can’t even compare in my league any more. It’s not even a fight I am thinking about any more. I’m not even interested,” Fury told Mail Online.

“That bubble has been burst. His virginity has been taken away so it’s not interesting for me any more. He’s been spanked by Usyk twice and been beaten by a fat man. So it’s not in my interest to beat him.” Joshua picked up his first knockout win in over two years by stopping Robert Helenius in August and has since been linked to a fight against Deontay Wilder.

Joshua vs Wilder was being planned to take place on the same event as Fury vs Usyk, but the heavyweight showdown has been delayed yet again. Matchroom Boxing boss Eddie Hearn has guaranteed the mega-fight will take place in 2024 and thinks Joshua could also return to the ring in December to stay active.

At this stage in the year, it was expected that a fight between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder would be announced.

The two former wold champions have been in productive talks, and were entertaining offers from Saudi Arabia via Skill Challenge Entertainment – one of which was believed to have been agreed.

A shift in the boxing landscape in Saudi means any numbers promised are now off the table, and both men face the decision as to wait it out or stay busy.

Wilder may need that more than Joshua, having not been in the ring for a full year.

The Brit has fought twice in 2023 – a decision win over Jermaine Franklin and a KO over Robert Helenius, both under the guidance of new trainer, Derrick James.

If he is to take a fight in between now and Wilder, the date would fall within December. Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that he could end up on the same card as a rescheduled Conor Benn – Chris Eubank Jr bout.

“He could go on December 23 maybe even as well. December 2nd is a fantastic card that we’re announcing on Saturday night for Britain, and 23rd is our date for Benn-Eubank. I truly believe that fight will get made for that date.”

Should Benn’s troubles with the British Boxing Board of Control and the UK Anti-Doping Agency not be resolved to the point that he can fight in his home country, Matchroom are expected to target Abu Dhabi for the event.

No opponent has been floated for Joshua, and that particular discussion will differ depending on if he finds himself in the main event or on the undercard.

For now, Hearn’s goal is to get the Wilder fight over the line. Should that not be realistic until early 2024, he risks not delivering on Anthony Joshua’s desire to compete three times in 2023

Anthony Joshua needs an impressive knockout victory in his stay-busy fight in December to create interest in his long-awaited super bout against Deontay Wilder in March or April of next year. Gareth A. Davies thinks Joshua should potentially fight the likes of Demsey McKean or Joseph Parker in December to get an impressive knockout to help create buzz for his mega-fight with Deontay in the first quarter of 2024.

Obviously, the ideal guy for Joshua to fight would be his  2012 Olympic foe, Zhilei Zhang, as he’s very popular right now with hardcore boxing fans after his two victories over Joe Joyce and the robbery that took place in his fight with Filip Hrgovic last year. Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, is being a stick in the mud, showing no interest in matching him with Zhang, saying that would be an easy fight for him.

Of course, you can argue that Joshua has been taking nothing but easy fights lately against Robert Helenius & Jermaine Franklin, so why would  Hearn have a problem with matching him against Zhang if he’s a soft job?

If Joshua is going to fight in December, Hearn is going to need to find an opponent for him quickly because he’s running out of time to get a live body. “It would be someone who he needs to knock out and make a statement against. They could pick anyone. It could be Demsey McKean. Joseph Parker after he fights in October” said Gareth  A. Davies to Boxing King Media about who Anthony Joshua should fight next in December. “They’re not going to put him [Joshua] in against difficult guys like Martin Bakole before the Wilder fight. I think he should wait and just fight Wilder.

“In some ways, Joshua needs something convincing to get into that major mix again. He’s got to do a big roll of the dice, and the role of the dice is Wilder, and now Wilder has got mileage on the clock, even though he’s very dangerous after those three fights with Fury. Maybe it’s time to take that risk, maybe it is time to do that. NEWS:   Heavyweight division needs Deontay Wilder as champion Should Anthony Joshua sit and wait for a Fury fight?  But they’re probably going to have to wait too long because Fury is fighting in November. I think he’ll fight in January, and I think he’ll fight again. I think there’ll probably be a Usyk rematch. It’ll probably be a two-fight thing,” said Gareth.

Five years on from the failed negotiations for an undisputed clash between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder and the long-awaited heavyweight showdown is once again struggling.

Over the summer, some boxing fans believed that they would be treated to a one-of-a-kind heavyweight spectacle that would seen Tyson Fury battle Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title as well as the culmination of the rivalry between former champions, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.

That dream quickly diminished. ‘The Gypsy King’ instead opted to face Francis Ngannou at the end of October, all-but ruling him out of a December outing and shared his reluctance to face Usyk for anything other than a mammoth payday.

Meanwhile, Joshua-Wilder was pushed back to January, and fans still had faith in at least one mega heavyweight clash in the near future. A shift in the boxing landscape in Saudi Arabia has set those talks back once again. The terms that were once agreed, with the organisation that put them forward, are now off the table.

Eddie Hearn told iFL TV that there is another potential site that could stage the fight in early 2024.

“That was supposed to happen in January, we accepted the offer.”

“We know it’s not materialised now. Because it was made by someone who couldn’t deliver the fight at that time.”

“We’d agreed, Wilder had agreed, now we’re talking to other sites about that fight in February or March and that’s still the plan, very much the plan.”

Once again, boxing fans around the world have been taught a harsh lesson, to not to get their hopes up until the two superstars are in the ring.

Although, the silver lining of the failures to make the Wilder fight is that Joshua could box for a third time this year in December, with plenty of suitors eyeing up the challenge.

The Juggernaut’ returned to the ring over the weekend in the U.K. There, he faced Zhilei Zhang in a rematch of their clash earlier this spring. Famously, ‘Bang Bang’ scored a stoppage win in April, blowing up Joyce’s eye to the point where he couldn’t see.

He quickly activated his rematch clause, with many believing that the heavyweight would right the wrong from their first fight. However, on Saturday, again, Joyce lost. This time, it wasn’t a doctor’s stoppage either. In round three, one of boxing’s best chins was finally cracked.

Since then, many have called for Joe Joyce to retire. Now, in a recent interview with iFL TV, Eddie Hearn has joined in. In the interview, the Matchroom executive noted that a future possible fight with Anthony Joshua is now off the table.

Previously, Joyce and ‘AJ’ teased that they could fight in the future. However, with back-to-back losses and approaching his 40s, Hearn believes the Brit may need to retire. Speaking in the interview, the promoter stated:

“That would be dangerous [to book Joyce vs. Joshua in the future]. He shouldn’t be boxing. AJ punches as hard as Zhang with much more speed. It’s a car crash that fight.”

Joe Joyce hits back at retirement talk after loss

Joe Joyce isn’t planning on retirement despite his second straight loss.

‘The Juggernaut’ was already receiving calls to retire after his first loss to Zhilei Zhang earlier this year. Names such as Teddy Atlas warned the heavyweight that he couldn’t continue taking massive damage without making changes.

Well, sadly for Joyce, those changes didn’t come. Well, they didn’t come in the rematch with ‘Bang Bang’ anyway. In the rematch, he took massive shots, eventually being knocked out cold in the third round.

Quickly, names such as Eddie Hearn and even his promoter, Frank Warren, questioned if Joe Joyce should continue fighting. However, don’t expect the heavyweight contender to quit that easily, as he said in an interview with BBC Sport:

“I’m just going to have a little time off, then reflect and review where it went wrong. I’m feeling good, I’m feeling okay, it’s not the end of the world. I can rebuild and come back. Credit to Zhang, he’s a tough fighter, he’s a good fighter…. I’ll just have to take a different route to get back in line for the title. No, no chance [I will retire].”

Anthony Joshua has revealed that his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk was the most painful defeat of his career.

Joshua was unbeaten until he suffered a shock TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019, a defeat that he avenged by outpointing Ruiz six months later. The Briton then knocked out Kubrat Pulev in 2020 before losing to Oleksandr Usyk on points in 2021. Joshua, 33, fought the unbeaten Ukrainian again in August 2022, but unlike in his rematch against Ruiz, “AJ” could not regain his unified heavyweight titles.

Joshua bounced back this April with a decision win over Jermaine Franklin, and on Saturday he will box Robert Helenius, who steps in for Dillian Whyte after the latter failed a drug test.

Ahead of his clash with Helenius, Joshua was asked on Thursday which loss hurt him the most, and he told Dazn without hesitation: “Usyk 2. Yeah, massively.

“I respect Usyk, yeah? But it just hurt, the defeat.”

Joshua lost on all three scorecards in his first fight with Usyk, who was a split-decision winner in their rematch. Despite the closer nature of the second bout, Joshua refused to give himself credit for an improved performance.

“It was weak. It was a weak performance by me,” he told Dazn. “I wasn’t supposed to lose, in my head.

“It just… I give my life to this game, man. I give everything, I swear to you. I give a lot. Even talking about it now, it just makes me feel like… choked up a bit.

“When you put everything into something, it’s not easy… The only thing we get credit for is winning, there’s no silver medal in boxing. And what I gave wasn’t enough.”

After his second loss to Usyk – his first and last fight under coach Robert Garcia – Joshua seized a microphone and delivered a passionate but confused rant against his critics. He then spoke tearfully at the post-fight press conference.

Although Joshua cut a calmer figure after beating Franklin in April, in his first fight under Derrick James, he admitted he was disappointed in his performance.

Anthony Joshua returned to the O2 Arena in London to record a victory over Jermaine Franklin on Monday; The win was essential for Joshua’s hopes of reclaiming a world title but he did not record a statement knockout.

Anthony Joshua beat Jermaine Franklin by unanimous decision at the O2 Arena in London on Monday night, an essential victory for the former champion’s future progression.

After a painful loss in his rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last year, former champion Joshua had to win against the tough American and took a clear unanimous decision, 118-111 and 117-111 twice.

While this fight was his first without at least one world title on the line in seven years, for Joshua it was still one of his most crucial. A third consecutive loss, for a star of Joshua’s calibre, would have left his further aspirations in tatters.

In the build up to the contest he himself said he would retire, such were the stakes for him going into this fight. The win, however, propels him back once again towards his more accustomed place at the upper end of the heavyweight division.

Joshua didn’t rush himself to begin with. He kept his form in the opening two rounds, content to box behind rapid jabs, beating Franklin to the target. He stepped back smartly as well from Franklin’s darting shots in the first round.

The two though exchanged words after the bell, the hostility between the pair suddenly clear.

Joshua rocked Franklin with a sharp double left in the second but it was the American who drew blood from Joshua’s nose and then thumped a strong cross to the chin that prompted Joshua to hold.

Joshua kept the measured approach to his boxing through the middle rounds, only occasionally unleashing his heavy cross or solid left hook but generally letting quick jabbing catch out Franklin.

Yet the American grew in confidence, bursting forward to wing hooks at Joshua that saw the Briton cover up behind his guard.

Joshua pinged a cross flush into Franklin in the seventh round and the tough American had to nod to acknowledge the impact.

The former champion generated another roar from the crowd in the eighth when he slammed a combination into Franklin.

But the two got tied up in clinches and, in a sign of frustration, Joshua pushed Franklin back with a glove to the face after the end of the round.

He wasn’t though sustaining combinations. Joshua heaved a right down as his opponent bobbed forward, only for a hard right from Franklin to reply instantly and catch him on the chin. Joshua took it, but the clinches continued.

He lined up single shots, screwing his left up through Franklin’s guard, popping his right cross straight in – but when he had Franklin under pressure, the American bulled forward up close, driving Joshua into the ropes.

Joshua did hurt Franklin in the 11th round with a fine right uppercut on the inside, but rather than capitalise he again found himself caught on the end of a clean right cross. Franklin snuck his right in again before the close of the session.

The Briton was picking up the rounds, but the kind of statement he might have hoped to make, to score the knockout or at least a knockdown, was eluding him.

He strived to find it still in the final round, attacking Franklin with gusto as the crowd roared him in. But he could not find a breakthrough.

Instead the contest finished with ugly scenes with a brawl nearly erupting on the ring apron. Franklin’s corner rushed at Joshua as the two fighters had to be separated.

While it came by a wide unanimous points decision, Joshua had still secured the victory he needed. For a fighter of Joshua’s stature, working his way back to the top of the division, that win was all that mattered.

Olympic champ Yafai victorious

In 2021 Galal Yafai became the first British man to win an Olympic gold since Joshua’s triumph more than a decade ago at London 2012.

He has built ambitiously too as a professional prospect. Yafai went straight from the three-round amateur distance into a scheduled 10 rounder. Still only 4-0 (3), every fight Yafai has taken has been set for 10 rounds and he was taken that full distance in his last outing, winning the others by knockout.

The Birmingham man is working his way towards championship class and showed his quality against Moses Calleros on Joshua’s undercard at the O2.

Initially the Mexican showed every sign of being competitive. Yafai sounded him out in the first round, hitting his southpaw left straight through. But Calleros, undaunted, pushed forward and traded punches with Yafai in the second and third.

However when the Olympic gold medallist struck in the fourth round, he showed finishing spite.

A stern left cross left Calleros open for a lead right hook. Yafai whipped it smoothly into his opponent’s jaw and at once saw the Mexican wobbling.

He opened up then, trapping Calleros beneath an onslaught of punches and dropping him heavily to his knees.

Yafai spun away to a neutral corner, a smile already on his face. Calleros was hurt and the referee would not let him continue, halting the Mexican after 44 seconds of the fourth round.

Fabio Wardley, the reigning British heavyweight champion, also had an international contest on the bill against America’s Michael Polite-Coffie.

In the fourth round he lined up a sequence of heavy rights, all connecting and leaving Polite-Coffie on the ropes. He continued to fire in punches and, with nothing coming back from the American, referee Howard Foster stopped it at 0-25 of the round.

Afterwards Fabio Wardley underscored his interest in fighting Frazer Clarke, the Tokyo Olympic medallist next, saying: “Frazer holds the most prestige, to beat somebody who was an Olympian.”

A nervous-looking Eddie Hearn says he’d be open to doing a fight between Anthony Joshua & Zhilei Zhang in China if the “money” is right. Hearn states that he’s still currently interested in making the Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder fight. If enough money is offered from someone in China, Hearn would be interested in letting Joshua (26, 23 KOs) fight Zhang there. Interestingly, Hearn feels that Zhang (26-1-1, 21 KOs) isn’t on Joshua’s level, and he points to AJ’s narrow and, some say, questionable 15-11 victory over Zhilei in the 2012 London Olympics. That was a very, very close fight, and it was a long time ago before Joshua began showing signs of mental & physical deterioration. This writer had Zhang beating Joshua, but it wasn’t surprising that he lost. After all, the fight took place in London.

Joshua Vs. Zhang Possible “I said to you that he’d [Joyce] get stopped inside six rounds. Joe Joyce is a great guy. He’s 38, he’s taken a huge amount of punishment in sparring and in fights, and his greatest asset was his ability to take punches and walk through them. He can’t do it anymore,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Joe Joyce. NEWS:   Joe Joyce to come in “heavier” for Zhilei Zhang rematch on Saturday “Yeah, absolutely,” said Hearn when asked if he would do the Joshua vs. Zhang fight in China. “AJ’s always fancied that fight. He beat him in the amateurs. It was a good fight [in the 2012 London Olympics] Zhang is clearly fighting on a higher level than Joshua, who looks mentally shot, with his punch resistance & self-confidence gone and not coming back. Even if Joshua were still in mint condition, coming out of the 2012 Olympics, Zhang would be too much for him and hammer him into the earth. The fact is, Joshua was never that good of a fighter to begin with, and the only reason he went this far is due to Hearn’s careful match-making.

“Yeah, of course. Money talks,” said Hearn on whether he’d be open to doing Joshua-Zhang in China. “We’ll talk about that fight, no problem. We want to make the Wilder fight. Zhang’s an easy [fight for Joshua]. It’s still dangerous, but why not?” said Hearn. “Zhilei Zhang is a good fighter. He’s not an elite heavyweight, in my opinion, but he’s a world-class heavyweight. When I say ‘Elite,’ I’m talking, like top three, four, or five in the division. No, not really. I think there’s an argument he could creep into number five, but he’s a lovely man,” said Hearn when asked if Zhang is a top five heavyweight in the division.

At this point in Joshua’s career, he’s NOT a top five heavyweight anymore and would lose to all of these fighters: Zhilei Zhang Arslanbek Makhmudov Deontay Wilder Oleksandr Usyk Filip Hrgovic Andy Ruiz Jr. Tyson Fury Jared Anderson Frank Sanchez Martin Bakole

The look on Hearn’s face when he said, “Zhang’s an easy” fight for Joshua didn’t match his words. He was saying words for effect but didn’t believe them. Hearn obviously knows if he throws Joshua in with Zhang, the two-time Chinese Olympian will destroy what’s left of his career, which is on its last legs as it is. Joshua is utterly shot, a prime example of a fighter who has been on the front lines of a war for too long and can longer handle the heat of battle. AJ looks like someone in the trenches, shaking with fear each time an artillery round or a bullet whistles by overhead. He doesn’t belong in the warzone anymore, and he would be destroyed even worse than Joyce. With the apprehensive look on Hearn’s face when he was asked about his interest in matching Joshua against Zhang, it’s clear that he knows that AJ is shell-shocked at this point in his career.

Now, it’s just about putting him in a cash-out fight with Deontay and scooping up the gold. Joshua will be shattered by Wilder, and Hearn won’t be able to pick up all the broken pieces of him afterward to ramp up for another cash-out fight. Joe Joyce = “Punching Bag” “I saw the fight. We watched it. You can’t come in two stone nearly heavier than the last fight if you’re just going to be a punching bag, and that’s what he was tonight,” said Hearn about Joyce. “He was a punching bag.” It was a crazy idea for Joyce to have taken the rematch with Zhang in the first place, and you have to wonder who in his camp made the decision to go in that direction. Joyce should taken a couple of confidence-building fights against some local lads before getting back in the thick of things against world-level competition. “He wasn’t in the fight at any moment,”  said Hearn. “He was getting pinged left, right, and center, and it was a horrific knockout. I think his punch resistance is not what it was. That’s why I thought he’d win the first fight, but I said to you in the interview. He’ll get stopped within six rounds. He’s not the same fighter.

“No. That would be dangerous,” said Hearn when asked if he’d make Anthony Joshua vs. Joyce. “He [Joyce] shouldn’t be boxing. He’s had a great career, and he should have been Olympic champion [in 2016]. He’s won the [WBO] interim World Heavyweight, so I’m sure he’s made a lot of money as well. “People around him will know. You can’t get hit. AJ punches as hard as Zhang, with much more speed. It’s not so right fight to make. You have to protect these guys,” said Hearn about his lack of interest in making a fight between Joshua and Joe Joyce. “It’s a car crash, that fight, a car crash. Zhang is quite ponderous and quite slow but a good southpaw, who can bang a little bit. AJ punches as hard with speed. It would be [a mismatch]. Joe doesn’t need that fight. He’s had a great career, and let him enjoy his life. He can’t keep going in and taking punishment,” said Hearn.