According to promoter Eddie Hearn, former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua may not return to the ring until next March. Joshua hadn't tasted victory in a long time, and in August this year he lost again to Oreksande Usyk in the rematch, further falling into a career slump.
Initially, Joshua planned to return to boxing in December and even negotiated with WBC champion Tyson Fury, but as the talks broke down, Fury chose to face Derek Chesora on December 3, and Joshua began to become idle.
As time went on, Joshua made no moves, and it became clear that they would not be able to debut in December as originally planned, so the comeback date was postponed to January and soon changed to February. Now, Hearn said Joshua's comeback date has been postponed again and will need to wait until the end of March 2023 at the latest.
"When you miss the chance to play Fury, the luck goes down a little bit, and when it comes to November, you think, I probably won't be in December, and then there's the Christmas problem, which is not going to fight in January, and then February, but when you realize something, it's March," Hearns said. ”
Earlier this month, Joshua traveled to Abu Zab in the Middle East to watch the battle of Dmitry Bivol vs Gilberto Ramirez, after which he stayed there and never returned to the UK.
"Joshua is still in the Middle East, he's on vacation and then we're going back to camp and we're planning to return to boxing in mid-March or at the end of next year," Hearn said. We will hear comments like this - why wait until March? Just because Joshua wanted to take a few more weeks off, he was still focused, still hungry. ”
Who will Joshua face in the comeback battle? It's too early to talk about it, but the most likely opponent is the winner of Dillian White vs Germaine Franklin on the 26th of this month, and Hearn has said they will be the "frontrunners" for Joshua's return to play. Of course, Joshua's team also revealed another candidate, that is, the "bronze bomber" Deonte Wilder, but it is easy for discerning people to see that this is more like a smoke bomb released by Joshua, at least Wilder is unlikely to be the opponent of Joshua's first comeback, maybe he will consider Wilder in the next game after completing the comeback battle.
Joshua postponed the match to March next year, there is no fault, but repeatedly postponed the comeback date, which makes the situation a little embarrassing, and at the same time inevitably causes speculation and discussion from the outside world, so Joshua's team must have a clear understanding, in addition to choosing the right opponent, that is, it must win in a beautiful way.
Postponing his comeback is not bad for Joshua, who can use this time to rest and recover, and then get off to a good start. According to Joshua's age and strength, as long as he can make adjustments psychologically, the future is still worth looking forward to.