What Next for Anthony Joshua

What Next for Anthony Joshua

By Simon Graham

On Saturday night in Saudi Arabia, Anthony Joshua became a two-time unified heavyweight champion. I for one am extremely happy to say I called this wrong, I had Andy Ruiz Jnr to put on a repeat performance and beat Joshua again.

Joshua put on a great performance and did what he had to do. It wasn’t a masterclass as some are calling it, only because there were times when Joshua looked vulnerable.

This is a trait I believe Joshua fans will have to get used to in the fights to come. To quote the champ himself:

“He’s not perfect but I’m trying.”

The two top favourites to face Joshua next are the IBF mandatory Kubrat Pulev who has been waiting in the wings since he pulled out of their scheduled bout in 2017.

The WBO have given Joshua 180 days to make his mandatory defence against Oleksandr Usyk. However, I can’t see this one happening as I don’t think Matchroom are ready to let Usyk loose on their biggest star.

Usyk himself has said he is prepared to wait and will likely fight Derek Chisora in February.

That leaves another rematch with Ruiz, which again I don’t see happening anytime soon. I don’t believe Ruiz deserves another opportunity after what we witnessed at the weekend. But I could see Ruiz getting a rematch with Joseph Parker perhaps, the only other fighter to have beaten him.

Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder are scheduled for their February rematch, if Wilder loses he’s almost certain to face Fury in a trilogy fight so he could be tied up for the rest of 2020. I fear a fight with Joshua is highly unlikely, regardless of the rematch outcome.

Win or lose Fury’s options could also be a third fight with Wilder or more remotely a match with Dillian Whyte depending on the ongoing mandatory arguments.

My concern is Joshua only fights two times a year which is not enough to satisfy all the various governing bodies. Joshua won’t want to be stripped of one his hard won belts but he may not have a choice.

All things considered I think it’s Pulev next for Joshua in March.

Another possible scenario is the WBO gets vacated in which case we could see Usyk vs Parker the winner then fights the winner of Joshua v Pulev late in 2020.

Wilder vs Fury is the key bout on the horizon it will be interesting to see just how keen the winner is to become the undisputed champion.

The fight everyone wants to see is the unified heavyweight champion vs the WBC heavyweight champion, to give us one true king.

However, the most likely outcome is that a fight to become the undisputed world heavyweight champion happens in 2021, frustrating maybe, but inevitable all the same.