Anthony Joshua appears to be well positioned to contend for a world title later this year or in early 2025, against the winner of Fury-Usyk for the united titles or the winner of Hrgovic-Dubois, who is anticipated to retain the IBF title in June. With AJ’s ambitions of becoming the fifth three-time heavyweight champion on hold for the time being, we at Boxing Social consider who he should face while waiting for his turn.
Joseph Parker (35–3)
Anthony Joshua’s recent gains with Ben Davison have been nothing short of amazing, with him finding the deadly instinct that earned him the acclaim he still enjoys today. However, Parker’s form may be superior than that of ‘AJ’, whose career has witnessed an even more miraculous turnaround in the last 18 months, as his friendship with Andy Lee evolved.
After losing to Joe Joyce, the New Zealander has won five consecutive fights in just 14 months, including upset victories over Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang. The former WBO champion’s activity has definitely boosted his progress, and he has unexpectedly emerged as a danger to the heavyweight title once more.
However, according to Joshua, Parker is one of just three guys he has defeated but not knocked out, and the 32-year-old currently holds the WBO interim belt. As a result, a victory over Parker would guarantee Joshua a shot at the Fury-Usyk winner, as well as tremendous praise for defeating a highly regarded contender who he has already defeated quite easily.
Dillian Whyte (30–3)
From one rematch to the next, Anthony Joshua was set to meet Dillian Whyte again in August, but his domestic adversary was forced to withdraw after a positive drugs test. Regardless of AJ’s 2015 knockout win against his fellow Londoner, the scores are arguably still locked at 1-1 after Whyte’s victory against Joshua in the amateurs, and a second professional match-up with ‘The Body Snatcher’ would give Joshua the opportunity to put their rivalry to rest once and for all.
The addition of Whyte’s positive test makes the event even more marketable, and Joshua would enter the battle as a heavy favorite for what might be a well-paid, low-risk fight based on recent results, as well as one in which Joshua has expressed interest.
Agit Kabayel (24–0)
Finally, there is Agit Kabayel, the only man on our list whom Joshua has not yet defeated. The German shocked the odds in Saudi Arabia by defeating Arslanbek Makhmudov in December, and as a result, he is highly ranked by all four sanctioning organizations. Joshua has previously been linked to a fight with the undefeated and unproven fighter, but his victory over Makhmudov may have been owing to the Russian being overrated, not Kabayel being undervalued.
A fight with Kabayel provides Joshua with the opportunity to defeat a highly ranked opponent, but Kabayel’s lack of punch power, along with the fact that he has only participated in eight rounds since June 2021, should make him an easy night’s work for Joshua.
Each of these choices is predicated on the possibility to face the winner of the Fury-Usyk fight before to their projected rematch, as well as the potential to face Filip Hrgovic for the IBF belt, which would exceed Joshua. However, there are a number of other contenders for ‘AJ’, as well as the option of sitting out the summer and patiently waiting for the call, despite the form that his recent activity has encouraged.
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