Anthony Joshua is set to return to the ring in under a week when he takes on Jermaine Franklin. The former heavyweight champion hasn’t fought since his back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk which left him without a title.
He’s looking to bounce back and revitalise his career with victory over Frankin, who is a big underdog heading into the bout. However, AJ can’t afford to take the American lightly. As he found out to his cost in his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr, never underestimate an opponent!
With it only a matter of days until his clash with Franklin, like all good promoters, Eddie Hearn is looking into the future for AJ and has named his next five opponents should he emerge victorious on Saturday evening.
Anthony Joshua’s next opponents?
Obviously, Joshua’s next opponents will depend on the outcome of his fight against Franklin, although given he’s an overwhelming favourite, it’s only a little presumptuous to look ahead. That is something Hearn is doing, with a five fight plan outlined, including Tyson Fury.
Of course, between now and then, titles could change hands. With only The Gypsy King holding a belt currently, that’s the path Joshua will need to take to win another heavyweight title, especially given a trilogy bout with Usyk isn’t in the plans at the moment.
However, the fight most British boxing fans want to see is Fury vs Joshua, which is clearly in both AJ and Hearn’s vision, although they’ll have to negotiate with team Fury once again, which as we know doesn’t seem to be an easy task at the moment.
Video: Eddie Hearn names Anthony Joshua’s next five opponents
Hearn realises that there are plenty of fighters out there that would love to have a pop at Joshua, as despite his recent form, he still is one of the biggest names in the sport. This list of potential opponents certainly proves just that.
When reeling off the names he would see AJ fight should, Hearn begins his list by admitting he has to win on Saturday, or the whole list changes. He then claims his next opponents could include Dillian Whyte, KO specialist Deontay Wilder, The Gypsy King, Joe Joyce and then Filip Hrgovic.
There are some huge fights in there we are yet to see, mainly the Wilder and Fury fights, if they come off, they’d be absolutely huge and bouts we’d all be here for. Let’s get these sorted eh, Eddie?
