A decision will be made this week on whether Anthony Joshua will fight in 2025, according to Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn.
Joshua has been out of the ring for almost 14 months since he was stunned with a fifth-round stoppage by fellow British heavyweight Daniel Dubois last September.
It halted Joshua’s momentum under trainer Ben Davison and his charge towards another world title tilt, but Hearn revealed at the grand arrivals of Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn II that a tune-up fight is on the cards and could even take place before the year is out.
“We will make a decision this week in terms of if he will fight this year. We have to decide by this weekend basically,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“It doesn’t really matter where it is. You won’t know about it until maybe even fight week. Honestly. That’s the whole purpose of it.
“I think it would be so good for him but bizarre at the same time, because there’s no money in the fight. We’re not going to start using him to sell tickets. Literally he will just pop up on a show.
“He’s really up for it. I think it would be so good for him. I’d love him to go in there and just smash someone up.”
Joshua’s defeat to Dubois ended a run of four straight wins after back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
With old rival Tyson Fury expected to resume his boxing career in 2026, an eagerly-anticipated bout with Joshua is still a possibility for the duo.
