Anthony Joshua unlikely to rematch opponent he brutally KO’d as comeback looms

Matchroom Boxing CEO Frank Smith has played down rumours of Anthony Joshua rematching Dillian Whyte on his return.

Joshua returned to Oleksandr Usyk’s training camp this week, three months after a tragic motor accident in Nigeria left him hospitalised and killed his two best friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.

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‘AJ’ had knocked out Jake Paul in Miami just 10 days before the accident, which left his boxing future in doubt.

The 36-year-old was supposed to use the Paul fight to brush off some cobwebs and gain exposure in the American market before making a full comeback this spring.

Joshua has since made a full return to training and Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn said he will likely return at the end of the summer, if the Briton is not ready sooner.

This has prompted members of the boxing fraternity to debate over who ‘AJ’ could potentially face on his comeback.

Dillian Whyte, who Joshua left unconscious at the O2 Arena in 2015, is one name that has been mentioned frequently.

Smith provides update on Joshua’s future

Speaking to BoxingScene, Smith revealed that although ‘anything can happen’ in modern boxing’s current landscape, Whyte is unlikely to be the man who welcomes Joshua back to the ring.

“Not really. I don’t believe [that Whyte could be next],” Smith said.

“Anything can happen in boxing, but I don’t believe so… the key is getting [Joshua] into a position to actually know when he’s ready, rather than picking a date before we know that.

“That’s the focus right now… it would be great to get him back out in the summer, but he’s back in full training now, so that’ll be how he gets himself back in there.

“He’s obviously been ticking over, but it’s very different to what he’s been doing.

“He’s got to be right, he’s got to be prepared and ready, so hopefully we get some news soon on that.”

Joshua viciously stopped Whyte before going on to claim the world IBF title by doing the same to Charles Martin.

‘AJ’ was scheduled to rematch Whyte in August 2023, but the latter was replaced by Robert Helenius on short notice after he returned adverse analytical findings from an anti-doping test.

Joshua finished Helenius in round seven and went on to claim wins against Otto Wallin and former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

He then shockingly came up short against Dubois before making his latest return against Paul.

talkSPORT’s Gareth A Davies and Ade Oladipo both believe Whyte is a suitable comeback opponent for Joshua.

“I like the sound of Dillian Whyte,” Davies said on talkSPORT Boxing.

“It’s something that works. It gets [Joshua] back into the rhythm.”

Davies also revealed Joshua was scheduled to meet kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven this month before a deal with Paul was made.

Verhoeven is now scheduled to fight Usyk for the WBC strap on May 23 at the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt.

Anthony Joshua’s Move to Dubai: What It Means for His Boxing Future

Anthony Joshua has formally relocated from the United Kingdom to Dubai, confirmed through corporate filings submitted on March 7 for his companies Sparta Promotions Limited and 258 Investments Limited.

Dubai’s zero-income-tax environment is an obvious financial incentive — Sparta Promotions reported profits exceeding £20 million in 2024 — but the boxing implications may matter more than the balance sheet.

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A Career at a Crossroads

Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs) is in the most uncertain stretch of his professional life. Ten days after stopping Jake Paul in the sixth round on December 19, the former two-time unified heavyweight champion was involved in a devastating car crash on Nigeria’s Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Two close friends and members of his inner circle — personal trainer Kevin “Latz” Ayodele and strength and conditioning coach Sina Ghami — were killed. Joshua sustained rib injuries and was hospitalized before being released on New Year’s Eve.

The crash destroyed what had been an ambitious 2026 roadmap: a March tune-up under the Riyadh Season banner, followed by a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury in August. That timeline is now scrap paper.

“Originally, the plan for AJ was for him to fight in March and then fight Tyson Fury in August. That’s not happening,” promoter Eddie Hearn told media in February, as reported by ESPN. “He’s going to come back, I believe, late summer, but physically he’s not yet in a position to return to camp.”

Hearn has identified July as a target return date, though he acknowledged in a separate interview with First Round TV that there are no guarantees Joshua fights again at all.

Dubai as a Training Base

Joshua’s connection to Dubai is not new. He has used the city’s facilities for training camps throughout his career and was memorably photographed sparring on the helipad of the Burj Al Arab in 2017. More recently, he trained there with former UFC lightweight champion Khabib Nurmagomedov in February.

Making Dubai a permanent base rather than an occasional stop raises practical questions. Joshua’s longtime UK setup — built around the network of trainers, sparring partners, and support staff that sustained his championship years — would need to be replicated or reimagined. The loss of Ayodele and Ghami has already fractured that support system at the worst possible time.

Dubai’s geographic position does put Joshua closer to Riyadh, where Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season has staged many of boxing’s biggest recent events. If Joshua’s remaining fights are primarily bankrolled by Saudi investment — as the Fury negotiations suggest — proximity to that power center is not a disadvantage.

The Fury Fight: Delayed, Not Dead

Fury, who had been retired since consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, announced his own comeback and is scheduled to face Arslanbek Makhmudov on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Hearn has kept the door open for the all-British showdown, suggesting it could land at the end of 2026 or early 2027. Fury, however, has publicly stated his preference for an Usyk trilogy if he defeats Makhmudov, which would push the Joshua fight even further down the calendar.

The matchup British boxing fans spent a decade demanding now hinges on a sequence of events that must break exactly right: Joshua must return healthy, win a July tune-up, and remain on Alalshikh’s radar while Fury navigates his own path. As Fury told Sky Sports, the Joshua crash was the catalyst for his own return: “Life is very short, very precious and very fragile. Anything could happen at any given moment.”

What Comes Next

Joshua is 36 with four losses on his record. His stoppage of Paul was a necessary payday but told the sport nothing about where he stands against elite heavyweights. The last time he beat a ranked opponent was a decision over Jermaine Franklin in April 2023 — nearly three years ago.

A new address does not change those facts. What it may change is the emotional environment surrounding the final chapter of his career. Joshua spoke publicly for the first time since the crash in February, framing his return around the friends he lost: “What my goal is, is to continue to help them achieve their goals. Even though they may not be here in the physical, when I pray, I know spiritually they’re going to aid me through.”

That is not the language of a man chasing a payday. Whether he rebuilds from a gym in Dubai or one in Sheffield, the challenge is the same: prove that at 36, after everything, Anthony Joshua still belongs among the best heavyweights on the planet. The address on the corporate filing matters far less than what he does once the bell rings.

Anthony Joshua news teased by Eddie Hearn after boxer rejects offer from rival promoter

Eddie Hearn has teased news around Anthony Joshua, after revealing the heavyweight recently rejected an offer from a rival promoter.

Joshua last fought in December, stopping influencer Jake Paul in six rounds, before turning his attention to a loosely-planned bout against Tyson Fury in 2026.

However, “AJ” was involved in a car crash just 10 days after beating Paul, with the incident claiming the lives of two of Joshua’s teammates. Joshua, a former two-time world heavyweight champion, was also injured in the crash in Nigeria.

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The incident left his fighting future up in the air, but Joshua was quick to return to the gym, with his promoter Hearn soon hinting at a summer bout. Now, Hearn has added more fuel to the fire.

Hearn took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a photo of him accompanying Joshua during a past ring walk, adding the word “loading”.

The update came one day after Hearn suggested that Joshua, 36, had rejected an offer from a rival promoter – in the wake of Conor Benn’s defection from Hearn’s company, Matchroom.

In February, Benn shockingly left Matchroom to sign with Zuffa Boxing, a new promotion headed up by UFC president Dana White, who continues to verbally attack Hearn. Benn’s move came despite Matchroom standing by the welterweight during a two-year saga in which he could not box in Britain, after he failed two drug tests in 2022.

“He won’t mind me saying it, but AJ had an approach around the back, a couple of weeks ago,” Hearn said on The Ariel Helwani Show. on Tuesday.

“Do you know how quickly he sent me the message, the screenshot? Seconds. ‘Let me know what you wanna reply.’

And it’s like, we’re a team. ‘Til the wheels come off, we are a team, and I’ve got your back always. And that’s just how it is.”

Around the time of Joshua’s fight with Paul, he had also been linked to kickboxing icon Rico Verhoeven. However, Verhoeven has now been paired with unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. The pair will clash in a stunning bout at the pyramids of Giza in May, with Usyk’s WBC title on the line.

Meanwhile, Fury is emerging from his fifth retirement to box Arslanbek Makhmudov on 11 April. The Briton has long been linked to compatriot Joshua, but Fury has also made clear his desire for a trilogy bout with Usyk.

The Ukrainian, who outpointed Fury twice in 2024 to hand him his only professional losses, said this week that he is open to a third bout with the “Gypsy King”.

It is unclear whom Joshua would fight next, although Agit Kabayel is arguably the odd man out among the heavyweight elite. In May, Fabio Wardley will defend the WBO belt against Daniel Dubois, while Kabayel is the mandatory challenger for Usyk’s WBC strap after the Ukrainian boxes Verhoeven.

Another interesting wrinkle came last week, when Hearn signed UFC heavyweight champion Tom Aspinall to the new Matchroom Talent Agency. Some were quick to point out Hearn’s ongoing rivalry with UFC president White.

Anthony Joshua vs Tom Aspinall Door Opens With Eddie Hearn Move

Tom Aspinall’s new partnership with Eddie Hearn could eventually open the door to a blockbuster boxing clash with Anthony Joshua once the UFC heavyweight champion’s contract expires.

The Salford-born fighter has become the first client of Hearn’s newly launched Matchroom Talent Agency, a move that places one of Britain’s biggest combat sports stars firmly within boxing’s commercial orbit.

Unlike a fight-promotion deal, the agreement focuses on commercial and advisory services — but it also links Aspinall directly to the promoter behind former heavyweight champion Joshua.

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Tom Aspinall and Eddie Hearn
In interviews since Aspinall fought Ciryl Gane in October and suffered a serious eye injury, Hearn has accused UFC president Dana White of mocking the situation and failing to show enough sympathy toward the British heavyweight.

That dispute, coupled with the obvious retaliation after White drafted Conor Benn to Zuffa Boxing, suggests the feud between the promoters is far from over.

White was even quoted this week, saying on Piers Morgan’s show he would consider a boxing match with his British rival.

What the Deal Means
As for Aspinall, signing with Hearn has put his feelings on the situation out in the open and left his long-term future in the UFC open to interpretation.

Depending on the exact terms of his agreement, Aspinall is believed to have two or three fights remaining on his UFC contract.

At 32, that would still give the heavyweight plenty of time to complete his obligations before pursuing major events in professional boxing.

Since Floyd Mayweather faced Conor McGregor in 2017, crossover bouts between boxing and other combat sports have become increasingly common.

Turki Alalshikh raised the stakes further when Francis Ngannou challenged Tyson Fury in Saudi Arabia, demonstrating that elite fighters from outside boxing can now enter the sport at the highest level.

Oleksandr Usyk’s planned bout with kickboxing star Rico Verhoeven in May will continue that trend.

Aspinall vs Joshua
If Aspinall eventually makes the move, he could find himself sharing the ring with Matchroom’s leading heavyweight, Anthony Joshua, in what would likely become a major UK event later in the decade.

Beyond Joshua, other options would exist depending on the level of ambition both Hearn and Aspinall pursue once the UFC chapter of his career comes to an end.

Joshua’s recent knockout of Jake Paul demonstrated that the former heavyweight champion is willing to consider crossover bouts if the terms are right.

For now, Aspinall vs Joshua remains the most intriguing possibility following Hearn’s bold move.