Who could Anthony Joshua fight next? AJ says he wants Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder after beating Jermaine Franklin
Anthony Joshua wants to jump straight into a fight with Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder after beating Jermaine Franklin in London.
Joshua fought for the first time since back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk as he aims to repair his reputation.
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The former two-time heavyweight world champion beat Franklin by unanimous decision, but admitted he was disappointed with his performance.
Ahead of the fight, boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has already named potential opponents for Joshua following his first win since 2020.
Who could Anthony Joshua fight next?
Joshua had a huge meeting with Tyson Fury fall through last year after back-and-forth contract talks collapsed.
Fury then fought Derek Chisora in December, ending hopes of a clash between the two British giants.
However, promoter Hearn revealed how things went wrong last year but now believes that Joshua would accept to fight Fury next.
He told Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT: “This time around, AJ is the challenger, he accepted 60-40. Ego got involved. All of a sudden, we were getting demands and pressures, everyday deadlines on social media… It fell through.
“He would sign to fight Tyson Fury now for the same terms we agreed to in November. 60-40, etc, etc. So, when you say, ‘Will it happen?’ Like, I just don’t know.”
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Joshua was asked who he wanted to take on next and he responded: “It would be an honour to get Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder.”
With that being said, at the post-fight press conference, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn admitted that Dillian Whyte is the opponent he would most like to see AJ fight next.
Although when asked about the potential Fury clash, Hearn said: “That fights all about timing and it would be a difficult fight not to take.”
Joshua has already faced Whyte and defended his WBC and Commonwealth titles in 2015, winning by TKO in the seventh round.
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During Hearn’s clash with Jordan, the talkSPORT host also suggested Daniel Dubois or Joe Joyce as potential opponents for Joshua.
Hearn responded: “I think Dubois is miles away in terms of the elite guys in the heavyweight division.
“But, I think Joyce is right there. I think he’s a very tough man to beat. Those guys have sparred thousands of rounds, I’ve seen it and it’s brilliant to watch.
“If you asked AJ about fighting Joe Joyce, no problem at all.”
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