Eddie Hearn reveals when Anthony Joshua will make boxing return after reviving talks for huge Deontay Wilder fight
AJ has been sidelined since his September knockout loss to Daniel Dubois and this year underwent elbow surgery.
But promoter Eddie Hearn revealed the two-time heavyweight champion is on track to fight before the year ends with Wilder a top target.
He initially held talks with the American's manager Shelly Finkel over a bout with Dave Allen - but now AJ is ready to take on Wilder himself.
Hearn told SunSport at the launch of Matchroom's rebrand: "I think it's a great fight.
"I mean there's jeopardy in it, it's dangerous. Originally I was speaking to Shelly about Dave Allen.
"I kind of get the feeling that Wilder wants to get a few fights under the belt, get a bit of confidence back.
"I think it's great to see him returning, it's really important that Deontay is still in the heavyweight division.
"AJ I will be here tonight. We've just started pinging a few opponents backwards and forwards, nothing really to talk about, but you will see AJ in the ring, November or December."
Joshua, 35, and Wilder, 39, were once close to agreeing a huge undisputed title decider before rival broadcasters and promoters got in the way.
Saudi boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh then tried to revive the bout last year - until disaster struck.
Wilder was beaten by Joseph Parker on points and knocked out by Zhilei Zhang - once again KOing the clash.
The former WBC champ took time off before returning in a confidence-building bout against Tyrrell Herndon - winning in seven rounds.
Wilder could even box in one more tune-up before jumping back into the big time - while AJ is also ready to return after giving his body a rest.
He said: "I took a year out, first time in about 12 to 13 years as a professional, not even including the amateur stuff.
"But I took a year out, get my body right. I'm at a different stage in my career where I can look at time a bit differently.
"I'm all these years in front of me like the main man here, so I gotta make like really executive decisions about what I do next.
"So the minute I come back, you know I'll come back with a bang rather than just keep rolling through and just going with the motions of the sport.
"I just thought, let me take some time out so when I do come back I come back fully active and ready to go and take the division by storm again."
2
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Ben Shelton overpowers Fucsovics to equal best Wimbledon run
As a statement of intent, Ben Shelton's opening service game on Saturday was quite something. His first serve thundered through at 145mph; on the third point, he upped it to 146mph and on the fifth, he bashed one down at 147mph. If Marton Fucsovics had picked up his rackets there and then and left the court, people would surely have understood. As it was, the Hungarian, ranked 105 having dropped from a high of No 31 in 2019, battled hard to compete but Shelton was a man on a mission, his 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-2 victory putting him through to the last 16, equalling his previous Wimbledon best. A hammer of a forehand gave Shelton the first break for 3-1 in the opener and when Fucsovics had the temerity to force a break-back point in the next game, he slammed down a serve at 148mph. That would have equalled the fastest-ever serve at Wimbledon had Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard not raised it to 153mph earlier this week. 'I had a lot of fun,' Shelton said. 'It's always special playing at Wimbledon. This is my third time playing on Court No 1. Hopefully I get a few more matches on one of these two big courts. I'm trying to make my way to Centre Court. Maybe I'll get there one day.' If he keeps playing this well, that's an inevitability. Though the second set was tight all the way through, Shelton pulled away to take the tie-break 7-4 and an early break in the third set him on his way. As his powerful all-court game flowed, he raced to a 5-1 lead and though Fucsovics got one break back, the left-hander broke again to clinch a convincing victory that sets up a clash with Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. 'He's a great player,' Shelton said of the Italian. 'I played him tight in Australia this year, I played him tight in Roland Garros so it's only fitting we do it in Wimbledon. Grass is a good surface for him, it'll be difficult, but I like my chances right now, the way I'm playing, the way the crowd is helping with my energy.' Sonego will need to find some energy somewhere after he edged out Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (5), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3) in five hours and four minutes, the longest match of the tournament this year. The Italian won 45 of his 76 points at the net as he matched his previous best performance here. This time last year, Alex de Minaur was due to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals only to withdraw before the match because of a hip injury that disrupted the rest of his year. On Saturday, the Australian ensured he will get another crack at the seven-time champion as he ended the run of the unheralded Dane August Holmgren 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion 'It's funny how life works,' De Minaur said. 'Here we are a year later, and I'm going to get that match-up. It is a round earlier. It was a brutal time for me last year having to deal with all of those emotions. But here we are a year later feeling good, ready to go, and I'm going to get my chance again. So I'm excited for that.' Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov captured his 100th grand slam singles win, beating Sebastian Ofner of Austria 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (0) to reach the fourth round for the third year in a row, a performance that earned him a shot at Jannik Sinner, the top seed. Another Italian, Flavio Cobolli, reached the last 16 of a slam for the first time thanks to a 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 win over the Czech Jakub Mensik and the veteran Croat Marin Cilic followed up his surprise win over Britain's Jack Draper by beating Jaume Munar of Spain 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round of a slam for the first time since 2022.
Daily Mail
3 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Boarded up shops and overflowing bins. Sorry state of the gateway to the world's most prestigious tennis tournament
The train draws to a halt with a sharp squeal, causing an elderly tennis fan in a panama hat to curse. 'At least we made it though, darling,' says his wife, patting his arm. She has a point. It's Friday lunchtime at Southfields Tube station, the one at which you alight for the Wimbledon Championships.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
The net gains of Wimbledon stars — stealing 500 towels a day
When you're handing out £53.5 million in prize money, you wouldn't have thought there was any incentive for Wimbledon players to steal one of the championship's £40 towels. You'd be wrong. About 500 a day were 'not returned' by players last week, with some laughing about their enthusiasm for relieving the All England Club of its cotton green and purple towels. In fact, Wimbledon has this year for the first time resigned itself to the fact that players all love stealing the towels, with staff told to not even try to get them back. Winston Sedgwick, the assistant manager of the court services team, said: 'There isn't a limit on how many towels we can give out, and frankly a lot of the players know that. There used to be an expectation that we, the court services teams, would ask and try and get towels back. That has stopped now.'
