His heavyweight belts were gone for a while, but now they’re back in Anthony Joshua’s possession. The British fighter defeated Andy Ruiz on their second bout this year, and Joshua is officially the new unified (WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO) heavyweight champ in the world.
After defeating the Mexican-American, everybody’s wondering who Joshua will be fighting next. Here are the top possibilities for that next fight:
Kubrat Pulev
There are IBF and WBO mandatories to be fulfilled before June, and with the WBO mandatory being Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua may likely want to take on Pulev as the more comfortable option.
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Oleksandr Usyk
If Joshua doesn’t drop the WBO before June, he’ll be forced to fight Usyk. Or, the IBF and WBO may reach an agreement, where Usyk fights Joshua at the end of 2020.
Deontay Wilder
After completing a trilogy of bouts, Wilder will be available to fight Joshua in early 2021.
Wilder will likely lose one of those upcoming bouts with Tyson Fury, and with the latter retiring at the end of his ESPN deal, Wilder is the safest bet of the two to fight Joshua next. We have to cross our fingers, hoping that all four belts will be on the line by the time this fight takes place.
Michael Hunter
When you have four belts to protect, mandatories tend to accumulate fast, and by 2021, the WBA will need to find an opponent for Joshua.
As a result of this, it’s likely that “Bounty,” who’s the top-ranked WBA fighter after Joshua, is going to be the latter’s next rival.
Dillian Whyte
By the year 2022, Joshua will be free from fighting any mandatories, and this points out to a long-awaited rematch with Whyte.
Joshua won the WBC International, Commonwealth, and vacant British heavyweight titles after defeating Whyte by KO in December 2015.
Definitely an all-British bout everybody wants to see!
Filip Hrgovic
This guy is one of the most promising current prospects in boxing, and we’re assuming he will rise and challenge Joshua for a chance to obtain the WBC title. Before that happens, Hrgovic will be forced to get wins over guys such as Dereck Chisora and Joseph Parker.
If this scenario takes place, everything will be served for a title bout versus Joshua.
Daniel Dubois
Although a fight between Joshua and Dubois is a bit unrealistic at this point, this is also another boxer that’s under heavy development with the help of Frank Warren.
And so by 2023, chances are that Dubois will have enough decent victories under his belt to opt for a title bout versus Joshua.
Now, you may be asking yourself why we have left Tyson Fury out of the options for Joshua to fight next. Still, boxing politics are likely to prevent this bout from taking place (and we’re even optimistic about the Wilder forecast).
The most potential fights are with Hrgovic and Dubois. Everything’s set for some of the best upcoming fights you have ever seen. Joshua is likely to get dethroned if he goes against one of either of these two.
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