Anthony Joshua is expected to return to the ring in March with Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wider shortlisted as potential opponents.
'AJ' has only fought once this year when he came up short in a unified heavyweight title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia in August. The former two-time champion faces a significant rebuild if he is to return to the pinnacle of the division - and he could have done so against Tyson Fury.
However the fight, which was pencilled in for this weekend, collapsed after Joshua missed his long-term rival's deadline which will now see him return in the new year. It is understood Whyte and Wilder are the two leading candidates to be the heavyweight's next dance partner, but the latter could depend on the status of his WBC elimintator against Andy Ruiz Jr.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn provided an update on the heavyweight's situation, confirming he would welcome a mega-fight with the 'Bronze Bomber' in Joshua's return next. He said on the DAZN Boxing Show : "At the moment, AJ’s plans are he is due to fight in late March, and we’re locking that in. "Could that be Wilder?
"Possibly. In my head, because of the Andy Ruiz situation and everything, it was one for the summer or certainly 2023. We’re more than willing to have that conversation. Maybe they’re trying to push the [Andy] Ruiz fight a little bit, or maybe they want it. I have to reach out to Shelly [Finkel] (Wilder's manager) today.
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"Obviously, Dillian Whyte’s win during the weekend sort of opens up that situation for Whyte against AJ, but we also understand that AJ against Deontay Wilder is one of the biggest fights in boxing. So definitely, we’d be open to making that fight next or even the one after."
Whyte recently rallied to a close decision win over Jermaine Franklin in his return, with Joshua ringside to watch his potential rival back in action ahead of a potential rematch. Meanwhile Wilder has bounced back from defeat to Fury with a brutal KO win over Robert Helenius, but could be carried back into title contention by taking on Joshua's former conqueror Ruiz Jr.
