Anthony Joshua has been told by his own promoter that he's not ready to face Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder after changing his camp and struggling in his last outing.
The two-time world heavyweight champion is on the comeback trail after his two losses to Oleksandr Usyk, and marked his return last time out with a win over Jermaine Franklin. Despite beating the American comfortably at The O2 in London, Joshua failed to impress and could only win on points.
And his promoter Eddie Hearn has admitted it may be too soon for a summer showdown with the likes of Fury or Wilder, instead opting for a slight step up. It is expected that he will face Dillian Whyte next, but he could also end up skipping that step and returning in December with a big fight.
“You’re better off being honest and saying look, this is where we’re at," Hearn told DAZN. "I need him to have another fight with a level slightly above Jermaine Franklin to gel with Derrick James, hopefully go in there with a little bit more confidence to prepare him for Fury or Wilder in December.
"We’re not ruling that out [Fury and Wilder], we’ll look at those. If a big offer comes in or a big site comes in, unlikely in July, but I just really want to see momentum. People have got to understand that this guy has got so much desire still. After this fight literally all he's been doing is analysing his performance, watching it back and talking to people.
"I think part of him enjoyed the fight because he got back to winning ways, he hasn't won for nearly three years. You can hype it up as much as you want and he said 'I'll tell the media that my career is over if I lose,' but he knew deep down that his career was over if he lost that fight. So sorry for not taking too many chances in that fight."
Who do you think Anthony Joshua should fight next? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!
Hearn appears to prefer the option of another step up in the form of a rematch with Dillian Whyte, whom he has faced as both a professional and an amateur. Whyte won their first meeting as younger fighters, but Joshua got the knockout when they competed again in the paid ranks.
"I love Dillian Whyte," Hearn insisted. "And people are saying [Joshua] didn't look very good, but [Whyte] had a very, very close fight with Franklin. I thought he edged it but you're talking about a few rounds where AJ dominated him, he really did, so you can't really win but people want to see him be a bit more aggresive.
"The style was also not ideal for AJ, much shorter guy with quick hands and good defence. I also think that Franklin was trying to survive in the back end of the fight as well."
