Eddie Hearn has insisted that Anthony Joshua could fight before the end of the year, claiming it could be a low-key outing.
Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, has not fought since his stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, and a long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury remains in Hearn’s crosshairs.
However, “AJ”’s promoter has said a tune-up bout is the likeliest next move for Joshua, 36, and Hearn has doubled down on the ideas that the Briton could partake in one before 2026.
“We will make a decision this week on Anthony’s next fight,” Hearn told publications, including The Independent, on Tuesday. “If he fights this year, it’s just gonna be a... You probably won’t even hear about it, unless it’s Jake Paul,” the Matchroom boss continued, referencing the possibility of a fight against YouTube star Paul.
“We would literally rock up on fight week. We’ve already got opponents that we’ve been talking to about a run-out fight, but the whole point of them is to not have to come and do [media] – just chill out, turn up on the Wednesday or Thursday, weigh in, wrap your hands, and go and fight.
“It’s got nothing to do with... obviously the financials... It’s just to do with getting back in the groove of fighting, because every time he fights, he has to go to a stadium, fight in front of 60,000 people in a tough fight. So, it’s almost like: ‘Just give me one to get back...’
“I admire the fact that he wants to do that, because it shows you his hunger for boxing. I’m not gonna say he’s not getting paid, but it’s like, what difference does it make?
“Again, we’ll make that decision this week, but – outside of Jake Paul – if he fought this year, you really wouldn’t know about it.”
Paul, 28, was angling for a fight with Joshua this summer, but the American instead opted to face compatriot Gervonta Davis – an unbeaten lightweight world champion.
However, that November bout was cancelled last week upon the emergence of fresh battery allegations against Davis, who has not yet publicly commented on the situation. A representative of Davis did not respond when approached by The Independent.
When asked whether Joshua and his team had received an offer from Paul, Hearn said: “No. We’ve had some discussions.
“If we was to have a run-out, a run-out against Jake Paul would be quite pleasant! I’m not sure he’s that mad – he might be – but nothing major to report at this stage.
“But I know they’re gonna make a decision themselves about what they’re gonna do. If [Jake] is mad enough, it just might happen, but nothing that close yet.”
Hearn, 46, added that a potential barrier would be Joshua’s deal with broadcaster DAZN, while Paul’s next bout is seemingly due to take place on Netflix – as the Davis contest was.
“Yeah, that would be another issue to overcome, there’s a lot of issues to overcome,” Hearn admitted. “But if [Paul] really wanted it, there’s probably ways to make it happen.”
Hearn also revealed that Joshua had not decided on a coach for his next fight, saying: “No. Obviously you know he went to the [Oleksandr] Usyk camp, he’s done that [kind of thing] plenty of times before.
“He went to the Canelo [Alvarez] camp, he went to Robert Garcia, he went to Derrick James, he went to other places he didn’t take on long-term.
“He’ll make a decision about his training team, but that trip [to Usyk’s gym] was more just for a little fact-finding mission – and to have a look about how others work.”
Joshua boxed Usyk twice, losing to the Ukrainian great on points in 2021 and 2022.
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