Three potential opponents for Anthony Joshua should Tyson Fury bout not materialise
The news that Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury had signed a deal for a blockbuster, all-British heavyweight unification bout was like music to the ears of boxing fans all over the globe.
However, it all came crashing down when an arbitration case forced The Gypsy King into taking on Deontay Wilder for a third time, which will take place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 9th, and the fight against the Watford-native was scrapped.
Joshua will now instead trade blows with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on September 25th, a bout he is heavily expected to win in the boxing betting markets. It is expected that, should both Joshua and Fury dispatch of their respective opponents, then the super fight will be back on, but it might not be that straightforward.
So, in case another spanner is thrown in the works, let’s take a look at three potential opponents for AJ should a much-anticipated fight with Fury fail to materialise. Read on to find out more!
Deontay Wilder
If Joshua gets past Usyk and Wilder usurps all the best boxing predictions to stun Fury, then what is there to stop this fight from happening? AJ has been linked with a bout against Wilder for some time now, long before the start of The Bronze Bomber’s trilogy with Fury even started, and Joshua taking on the American in a unification fight would certainly gain a lot of interest. The 31-year-old hasn’t been able to crack the United States in the same fashion as Fury, losing his only stateside bout to Andy Ruiz Jr at the iconic Madison Square Garden. So, this could be the perfect fight for Joshua to give it another go across the pond.
Andy Ruiz Jr
Speaking of Ruiz Jr, after that shock defeat in New York back in 2019, when the American won via a seventh-round TKO, surely Joshua would love to get back in the ring with the 31-year-old for a third time. AJ redeemed himself with a unanimous decision victory over The Destroyer in Saudi Arabia, but he has since claimed that he would love get back in the ring with Ruiz Jr, who is currently ranked second by the WBC, stating that he would make sure that the fight would end with a knock out.
“I’d love to go back and fight Ruiz again, because rematch or no rematch, I’ll knock him out,” Joshua said.
Joe Joyce
It may not be the all-British encounter that we so desperately want to see, but with victories over Daniel Dubois and Carlos Takam, Londoner Joe Joyce is now the WBO’s mandatory challenger to face the winner of Joshua vs Usyk. And, if another contract can’t be agreed between Fury and AJ, then the WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight champion could be forced into the ring with 35-year-old Joyce, who hasn’t shied away from calling out Joshua in the past.
“What I want is AJ or Usyk,” Joyce said after knocking out Takam. “I don’t need any more tests. I’ve started at the deep end and I’ve carried on at a steady trajectory.”
