Boxing Wire

Tag: Anthony Joshua

  • Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte 2? Matchroom Downplays Fight Possibility

    Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte 2? Matchroom Downplays Fight Possibility

    Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte might not be heading for a rematch anytime soon, as Matchroom Boxing is downplaying the possibility of the fight happening later this year. Matchroom is prioritizing Joshua’s physical and mental readiness before scheduling a fight.

    Speculation arose after Joshua posted images of himself back in training with Oleksandr Usyk and trainer Igor Golub. Joshua last fought in December, securing a sixth-round finish of Jake Paul.

    A Joshua vs Whyte rematch was scheduled for August 2023 but was cancelled due to Whyte’s failed drug test. Whyte has not fought since being stopped in the first round by Moses Itauma in August. Dillian Whyte wants a third fight with Derek Chisora in Q1 2026, but Chisora is the obstacle.

    Matchroom’s Perspective

    Matchroom’s Frank Smith addressed the speculation, stating to Boxing Scene:

    “Not really. I mean, I don’t believe so, [that Whyte could be next]. Anything can happen in boxing, but I don’t believe so.”

    Smith emphasized that Joshua’s well-being and readiness are the top priorities, not rushing into a fight. He added:

    “The key is getting him 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.”

    For now, a rematch between Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte appears unlikely, with Matchroom Boxing focused on ensuring Joshua is fully prepared before committing to any return date. While speculation will continue, the priority remains his physical and mental readiness rather than rushing into a high-profile bout.

  • Usyk Training Alongside Former Rival Joshua Ahead of “Glory in Giza”

    Usyk Training Alongside Former Rival Joshua Ahead of “Glory in Giza”

    Oleksandr Usyk is deep in training camp for his May 23rd WBC Heavyweight Title defense, and he’s doing it alongside a familiar face — former two-time unified champion Anthony Joshua, the man he defeated twice.

    The two heavyweights, who waged a pair of memorable wars — first in September 2021 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and then in a rematch in August 2022 in Jeddah — are now sharing a gym as Usyk prepares for the biggest crossover event in recent boxing history.

    Joshua previously joined Team Usyk’s training base in Spain ahead of his December 2025 fight against Jake Paul, working closely with Usyk’s longtime coaches Yuri Tkachenko and Sergey Lapin, and that partnership has continued into Usyk’s current camp.​

    A Historic Rivalry Turned Partnership

    The dynamic between Usyk and Joshua remains one of the most compelling storylines in modern heavyweight boxing. Usyk defeated Joshua by unanimous decision in their 2021 bout, stripping him of the IBF, WBA, and WBO titles, then retained those belts via split decision in their 2022 rematch.

    Now, rather than adversaries, the two are allies in camp — with Joshua drawing on the knowledge and environment of the team that beat him twice.

    Usyk, 39, last fought in July 2025, stopping Daniel Dubois in five rounds to reclaim the undisputed heavyweight crown, and enters “Glory in Giza” as a heavy favorite against the crossover challenger.​

    Glory in Giza | May 23, 2026 | Pyramids of Giza, Egypt | Live & Exclusive on DAZN

  • Eddie Hearn Denies Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Is Agreed

    Eddie Hearn Denies Anthony Joshua vs. Tyson Fury Is Agreed

    Eddie Hearn has pushed back hard on reports that Anthony Joshua has agreed to fight Tyson Fury, calling the claim “completely untrue” and confirming no deal is in place for the long-awaited all-British heavyweight showdown.

    The denial came after talkSPORT’s Gareth A Davies reported over the weekend that the fight is “agreed” and set to stream on Netflix — a claim that also clashed with Joshua’s existing broadcast partnership with DAZN.

    “Completely untrue. There is absolutely nothing signed with Anthony Joshua to fight Tyson Fury next. There is nothing agreed,” Hearn told The Stomping Ground. “There have been conversations — deep conversations prior to the accident — but since then, there have been no real conversations about that fight.”

    Car Crash Derailed 2026 Plans

    The original roadmap had Joshua returning in March before facing Fury later in the year. Those plans collapsed after Joshua was involved in a fatal car crash in Lagos, Nigeria, on December 29, which claimed the lives of two of his close friends and teammates, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

    Hearn confirmed to Boxing Scene that the revised plan has Joshua targeting a comeback in July or late summer, though he cautioned that a return date depends on when “AJ” gets back into training camp.

    “Physically he’s not yet in a position to return to camp,” Hearn said. “We’ll only know if July is a real possibility when he returns to camp, which will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks or a month.”

    The promoter has also walked back the certainty around a Fury fight happening at all. Speaking to Yahoo Sport, Hearn admitted there are “no guarantees” Joshua fights again, and acknowledged he doesn’t know whether Joshua vs. Fury will “ever happen right now” — a marked shift from the confident timeline he was projecting before the accident.

    Fury Fights April 11, Joshua Door Still Open

    Fury, meanwhile, returns on April 11 at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against hard-hitting contender Arslanbek Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs), live on Netflix. The fight marks Fury’s first bout on British soil in nearly four years and his comeback from a self-declared retirement.

    Hearn stopped short of closing the door on Joshua-Fury entirely.

    “We’re open to the Fury fight,” he said, “but probably more likely end of the year — maybe early 2027.”

    He also noted that Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh remains the key figure in brokering any deal, saying Joshua’s side has accepted a framework but that the Fury negotiations are out of their hands.

    “It’s Turki Alalshikh’s responsibility to talk to Tyson Fury and try to make the deal,” Hearn said. “Is the fight made? No. Because I don’t know where he’s at with Tyson Fury.”

  • Top Rank Nearing DAZN Deal Amid Matchroom Tensions

    Top Rank Nearing DAZN Deal Amid Matchroom Tensions

    Top Rank is closing in on a new broadcast home. Front Office Sports has confirmed that DAZN is finalizing a multiyear streaming deal with Bob Arum‘s promotion, with an official announcement expected later this week. The news was first reported by Ring Magazine, which has since deleted its original story.

    Update: Top Rank and DAZN’s new partnership is official

    DAZN declined to comment directly. “As company policy, we do not confirm, deny, or comment on market rumours or speculation regarding M&A, partnerships or rights deals,” a DAZN spokesperson told FOS.

    Per The Ring’s original reporting, the deal calls for eight to 10 events per year at license fees of $1 million to $1.25 million per card — a steep drop from the roughly $85 million annually ESPN paid Top Rank under their eight-year partnership, which ended in July 2025.

    DAZN Seeking More Content Amid Matchroom Frustrations

    The Top Rank pursuit isn’t just about adding fights. According to FOS sources, DAZN has grown frustrated with Eddie Hearn‘s Matchroom Boxing and is actively seeking to expand its events inventory as it plays defense against the rising threat of Zuffa Boxing.

    At the heart of the friction is a perception within DAZN that Hearn has been “double-dipping” — placing Matchroom fighters on outside cards while collecting nine figures annually from DAZN. Fighters including Anthony Joshua, Dmitry Bivol, Conor Benn, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, and Jai Opetaia have all competed on Riyadh Season and/or Ring cards. Katie Taylor fought Amanda Serrano twice on Netflix cards under Jake Paul’s MVP banner. Benn and Opetaia have since departed Matchroom for Zuffa.

    In a notable case, Hearn told Alalshikh’s Ring Magazine that a Callum Smith vs. David Morrell fight was expected in Saudi Arabia — only for it to later be announced as a Matchroom card in Liverpool on April 18. DAZN holds a 40% stake in Matchroom.

    A DAZN spokesperson pushed back on the friction narrative. “There’s absolutely no truth in the suggestion that DAZN is frustrated with Matchroom. We have just signed a new five-year deal with Matchroom, and we are very happy with our strong relationship and long-standing partnership.”

    The Broader War: DAZN vs. Zuffa

    The move for Top Rank comes as the boxing broadcast landscape grows increasingly combative. Zuffa Boxing — the joint venture between Saudi Arabia’s Sela and TKO Group Holdings, with leadership including Turki Alalshikh, WWE president Nick Khan, and UFC CEO Dana White — launched on Paramount+ in January and has been aggressively signing talent.

    Zuffa signed Opetaia away from Matchroom in January and made a move on Rodriguez before Matchroom exercised a matching clause. It then signed Benn on a one-fight deal reportedly worth $15 million that Hearn declined to match. The bidding war has spilled into public sniping: White said Hearn “works for his dad,” while Hearn fired back that White’s “dad for many years has been the Fertitta brothers, and now he’s got a new daddy called Turki Alalshikh.” Alalshikh himself weighed in on social media, writing to Hearn: “I am always here for you. And if you call me, unlike Conor Benn, I will answer the phone.”

    Adding Top Rank and its deep roster would give DAZN more leverage in that fight. Arum, 94, famously called DAZN a “Dead-Zone which nobody watches” back in 2022. By late 2024, he had softened considerably: “DAZN are doing a great job in boxing and the people who run DAZN are friends of ours.”

    Top Rank’s Roster Ready to Return

    Top Rank’s stable gives DAZN significant upside despite the modest license fees. Xander Zayas, Emanuel Navarrete, Keyshawn Davis, Bruce Carrington, Emiliano Vargas, and Abdullah Mason headline a roster that has been largely sidelined from consistent live streaming since ESPN’s exit. An official announcement from both sides is expected this week — BoxingWire will update this story when confirmed.

  • Jake Paul Teases Boxing Announcement for March 18

    Jake Paul Teases Boxing Announcement for March 18

    Jake Paul is back in the gym and wasting no time building hype. The YouTuber-turned-boxer posted a video on X showing himself shadowboxing and sparring, with “ANNOUNCEMENT MARCH 18TH” overlays splashed across the footage.

    The clip arrives just months after Paul suffered a jaw fracture in a December 2025 TKO loss to Anthony Joshua, a setback that sidelined him for much of the early part of 2026. The video emphasizes his physical condition and high-energy training, clearly designed to signal he’s healthy and ready to return.

    Paul described the upcoming announcement as “unexpected,” which has sent fans and media into speculation mode. Replies on the post quickly filled with guesses ranging from a Ryan Garcia fight to a rematch with Tommy Fury, though nothing has been confirmed.

    The announcement is set for Tuesday, March 18. BoxingWire will have full coverage once details are made official.

  • Jake Paul Reveals How His Jaw Broke Against Anthony Joshua, Says He Has No Regrets

    Jake Paul Reveals How His Jaw Broke Against Anthony Joshua, Says He Has No Regrets

    Jake Paul recently opened up about the moment his jaw broke during his bout against Anthony Joshua — and said he has zero regrets about taking the toughest challenge of his boxing career.

    Paul recently had a sit-down interview with President Donald Trump at a factory rally in Ohio. The December 19, 2025, fight ended in a sixth-round knockout at Miami’s Kaseya Center, with post-fight X-rays revealing Paul had suffered fractures in two locations on his jaw.

    Paul revealed that he didn’t actually know his jaw was broken during the fight — his brother had to tell him.

    “My brother told me — I was talking to him and my teeth were like in the center of my mouth and he was like, ‘Yo, I think your jaw is broken,’” Paul said. “And then I grabbed it. It was the last punch. The very last punch of the fight that did it.”

    Paul also described the shock of stepping into the ring and seeing Joshua’s full size up close for the first time.

    “Not at the weigh-in, not at the press conference,” Paul said. “And then I got into the ring — I just saw his size and I was just like, ‘Okay, this is going to be a tough night.’”

    “I Don’t Have Any Regrets”

    Despite the result and the injury — Paul has since undergone a second jaw surgery after hardware complications — he was emphatic that he wouldn’t change the decision to take the fight.

    “I don’t have any regrets on it. I love a challenge. It motivated me to get better,” Paul said.

    “The experience of being in the ring with someone that good and someone that big — I think moving forward, the next people I fight, it’s going to be a little bit easier, actually. It was good experience.”

    Paul entered the Joshua fight as a significant underdog. Joshua weighed in around 60-70 pounds heavier, a fact Trump brought up during their conversation:

    “If somebody’s even four pounds heavier, it’s a different weight class. And it’s hard to beat somebody that’s even a little bit heavier.”

    Dana White also noted Paul’s toughness after the fight, saying that despite the devastating knockout, Paul refused to go down from the jaw shot alone.

    Paul (12-2, 7 KOs) has stated his intention to return to boxing at cruiserweight later in 2026. He told Trump his jaw is still healing and that he won’t be back in the ring until later this year.

  • Zuffa Boxing Moved on Anthony Joshua, AJ Staying Loyal to Matchroom

    Zuffa Boxing Moved on Anthony Joshua, AJ Staying Loyal to Matchroom

    Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing allegedly approached Anthony Joshua about leaving Matchroom Boxing, but the former two-time unified heavyweight champion shut it down immediately — forwarding the message to promoter Eddie Hearn within seconds of receiving it.​

    Hearn revealed the approach during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, saying:

    “AJ had an approach about a couple of weeks ago. Do you know how quickly he sent me the message, the screenshot? Seconds. ‘Let me know what you want to reply.’”

    The move came shortly after Conor Benn made a high-profile defection from Matchroom to Zuffa Boxing in February, signing on to co-headline the April 11 Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov card at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Benn signing was described as a painful blow for Hearn, who had financially backed Benn through a two-year doping suspension.​

    White has made clear that Zuffa’s ambitions go well beyond Benn, telling reporters at a recent press conference that he’s “in the market to sign everyone” and predicting the promotion will look “impressive” by year’s end. Zuffa — co-owned by TKO Group (which also owns UFC and WWE) and Saudi entertainment company Sela — has 12 shows scheduled for 2026 with deals in place on both Paramount+ and Netflix.​

    Despite the aggressive push, Joshua remains under a career-long promotional agreement with Matchroom signed in 2021. Hearn noted the two are firmly aligned: “We’re a team, mate. Until the wheels come off, we are a team. And I’ve got your back, always.”