After defeating Jake Paul, Anthony Joshua may be just one win away from a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury. Although, the two-time heavyweight champion has been offered the chance to fight for a world title in his next outing.
Joshua ended 15 months of inactivity when he stopped Paul after six rounds and his plan for 2026 now seems pretty clear. ‘AJ’ is expected to return to action in February, where a victory will supposedly tee up a clash with long-term rival Fury for the second half of the calendar.
As far as Joshua’s opponents go for his February return, Dutch kickboxer and former Fury sparring partner Rico Verhoeven has emerged as a frontrunner, with fight news expected imminently.
However, Queensberry promoter Frank Warren told The Stomping Ground that he would be willing to stage a clash between his newly crowned WBO heavyweight world champion Fabio Wardley and Joshua, to potentially add a world title to the blockbuster dust-up with Fury.
“Fight Fabio Wardley, do it tomorrow, sign it tomorrow. If he says yes, I’ll go round to his house right now. Christmas Day I’ll go round there, and we will get the deal done. Why wouldn’t you do it?
You said you want to fight for a world title, fight Fabio Wardley. In the meantime, if you’re not [wanting to fight for a world title] and you want to wait for Tyson, then wait for Tyson.
All of these people keep saying he needs to do these things to get back [and fight] for a world title, he’s no spring chicken, he’s been around and he’s a two-time world champion. If he wants to jump back in, then there you go, Fabio Wardley – another guy who has had no amateur experience.
Let me tell you what it is, what he doesn’t need to do, AJ, is fight anybody who can punch, because then there won’t be a fight with Tyson.”
Eddie Hearn has previously admitted that a world title fight is Joshua’s preferred option, rather than a Fury fight, but money talks and his lucrative meeting with Fury is surely too big to put at any kind of risk by facing a tough February opponent.
