Eddie Hearn reveals Anthony Joshua timeline for comeback after ‘injury setback’

‘AJ’ last fought in September, suffering a knockout loss to IBF champion Daniel Dubois

Eddie Hearn has said Anthony Joshua is unable to start a proper training camp for his next fight, as the former heavyweight champion recently suffered an “injury setback”.

Joshua last fought in September, suffering a knockout loss to IBF champion Daniel Dubois, and talk quickly turned to “AJ”’s next bout. A rematch with Dubois was discussed, as was the prospect of a long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury.

However, Fury went on to retire in January after losing to Oleksandr Usyk in December, while Dubois was paired with Joseph Parker. Dubois withdrew from his fight with Parker due to illness, and the chance of that bout being rescheduled looks low, given Usyk has now been ordered to face Parker – who knocked out Martin Bakole in Dubois’s absence.

That could mean Dubois, 27, is available for a rematch with Joshua, 35, but not before August, per Hearn.

“Not a lot [to report],” Joshua’s promoter told iFL TV on Wednesday (19 March). “Look, he resumed training, and to cut a long story short, without going into too much detail about any injury: he’s not really ready to start camp.

“He needs another eight weeks or so on his injury. He had a little bit of a setback, and he won’t be punching for about that period of time. Probably [eight weeks], yeah.

“So, really, you’re looking at kind of the end of May for camp, so you’re looking at the back end of summer to fight again. August, September.

Anthony Joshua (left) last fought in September, losing to Daniel Dubois by knockout (PA Wire)

“When I say we’re not in any tearing rush, I mean: we’d like to know what the next move is, but until he’s physically ready, we’re not in any tearing rush.

“I mean, there’s only really two fights that he’s locked in for, and that’s Dubois and [Tyson] Fury. And at the moment obviously, the Fury fight doesn’t look like it’s a goer, but we can’t really start planning too much until we know he’s fully ready to resume training.

“It was a minor setback, but he’s got to be physically right. Like I said, it’s an injury he’s had for a while, and he’s resumed training – just not ready to start camp in full until it’s 100 per cent, which it’s not.”

After Dubois withdrew from a fight with Joseph Parker (centre), the latter knocked out Martin Bakole (Getty Images)

Dubois’s promoter Frank Warren recently suggested that “Dynamite” will return to the ring in July, but Hearn said the update was not linked to Joshua’s comeback timeline.

“We’ve not had any conversations with Frank about that fight really, in any depth,” Hearn said. “If he’s been in discussions for a fight, and he’s got a fight planned [in July], it’s not with us.

“There’s loads of options. [Agit] Kabayel, [Deontay] Wilder, Parker, but I’m just being honest: the two fights [Joshua] really wants are Dubois and Fury. I’m not saying, ‘If we don’t get those fights, he won’t fight again,’ but at the moment, we’re just waiting for him to be able to resume a full training camp and punch properly.”