LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 15: Anthony Joshua talks with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of ... [+]
Anthony Joshua is on a roll.
On the heels of three impressive KO wins in a row, Joshua is again near the head of the table regarding the top heavyweights and draws in boxing. Joshua’s healthy relationship with Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh doesn’t hurt his current standing in the sport.
Alalshikh is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s general entertainment authority and the man powering the surge of huge fights in the region.
He took to X to post an image with him and Joshua, and the caption reads, “We are waiting for the result of Usyk vs. Fury.”
This post could be taken as a guarantee for Joshua to face the winner of the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Tyson Fury undisputed heavyweight championship fight on May 18 in Riyadh, but it’s not that straightforward.
The Saudis reportedly have an agreement to financially back an event in London at Wembley Stadium with Joshua as the headliner. That will almost certainly be the former champion’s next fight.
There is a scenario where Joshua could fight Fury at that event, which would be the biggest heavyweight fight London has ever seen and one of the biggest globally.
However, a rematch is almost guaranteed. The two men have agreed to a rematch clause, meaning Joshua might need another opponent.
The Saudis have another major boxing card coming on June 1.
Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev will clash for the undisputed light heavyweight title in the main event. On the undercard of that bout, we will see two critical heavyweight fights. Deontay Wilder will face Zhilei Zhang, and Daniel DuBois will fight Filip Hrgovic.
All four of those men can be Joshua’s next opponent.
Wilder was supposed to fight Joshua this year, but he stumbled in his fight with Joseph Parker in December 2023, which killed their scheduled clash. Zhang also lost to Parker via majority decision earlier this year, which halted the momentum he’d established with a massive KO win over Joe Joyce in 2023.
If Wilder can rebound and defeat Zhang, he is confident it will restore the momentum and appeal for a fight with Joshua.
Likewise, Zhang would have a solid case for fighting Joshua if he defeated Wilder.
Zhang dropped Parker twice in their fight but was outpointed on two of the three judges' scorecards.
Zhang is likely less appealing of a fight for Joshua, barring a spectacular KO win over Wilder. A scrap between Joshua and Wilder is a long-awaited fight, and it would be a fitting main event from a commercial appeal standpoint.
From a lower-name recognition standpoint, the DuBois-Hrgovic fight is expected to be for the vacant IBF title. Because of the rematch clause, the IBF title will likely be vacated shortly after the Usyk-Fury fight.
The governing body requires their champion to defend the title against the mandatory challenger within nine months of being crowned or their last defense. The rematch between Fury and Usyk would make that impossible.
"The plan is for the vacant IBF title to be on the line against Dubois," Hrgovic said.
"Then the winner should fight Joshua, but you never know in boxing," Hrgovic continued. "Joshua is the dream fight and I hope I will beat Dubois and then fight him in Wembley in September. That would be perfect."
Hrgovic doesn't believe Fury will want to fight Usyk again if he wins. He seems to anticipate that Fury will push his way into a fight with Joshua at Wembley in September if he beats Usyk.
However, if Usyk wins, Fury will make good on the rematch, and that will position the winner of Hrgovic-DuBois to face Joshua in their first defense of the soon-to-be-vacated IBF title.
"I think if Fury wins, he will do everything to fight Joshua next, he won't want to fight Usyk again," Hrgovic said.
In any case, Joshua's next fight seems likely to be for a title or against the winner of the Wilder-Zhang bout.
While the specifics of Joshua's immediate professional future may not be entirely certain, the resurgent 34-year-old heavyweight has a treasure chest of options and some powerful relationships in place.
