Anthony Joshua has fought his way to the top and now looks set to be regarded as one of the greatest boxing heavyweights in history. He is the current holder of the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight championships and should a much-anticipated fight with Deontay Wilder materialise, he could add the WBC heavyweight championship to his collection.
If he were to hold all of the gold, there would be huge queues from other boxers desperate to topple him, but realistically, who could we see AJ fight in the near future? First up for AJ is a fight with Andy Ruiz Jr, but in Anthony Joshua v Andy Ruiz Jr betting, the Brit is the clear favourite to win, so who would be next?
Daniel Dubois
He may only be 21 years old, but Daniel Dubois is already carving out a solid reputation for himself in the boxing ring. He was scheduled to compete for Great Britain in the Olympics, but instead opted to turn professional in 2017.
Marcus Kelly was his first opponent, and he dispatched of him 35 seconds into the first round. He has since gone on to win another ten fights, with only one of those via unanimous decision. An 11-fight undefeated streak at the age of 21 suggests that Dubois has a bright future ahead of him.
He has a match for the British heavyweight title on 13th July against Nathan Gorman which, if he were to win, would certainly put him on people’s radars. While he won’t be the first in the queue for a shot at Joshua, give it a few years and we could be talking about a huge British heavyweight showdown.
Dillian Whyte
In what would be a rematch from their bout in 2015, Dillian Whyte is a realistic prospect for a future opponent. Joshua extended his undefeated streak to 15-0, when he defeated Whyte via knockout in the seventh round.
Since defeat to Joshua, Whyte has gone on to secure nine successive wins, including two against fellow Brit Dereck Chisora, and another against New Zealander Joseph Parker, who lost his WBO heavyweight title to Joshua in March 2018.
Both Whyte and AJ have come on leaps and bounds since their fight in 2015 and it’d be great to see the pair square-off once again as more complete boxers.
Tyson Fury
If AJ vs Wilder does go ahead, then there’s no doubt that Tyson Fury will want to be the first man to fight AJ should he come out on top. In 2015 he relinquished his world titles, seeking a break from boxing, but when he returned in 2018, he was determined to re-establish himself as the best heavyweight in the world.
He and Wilder boxed to a draw in December 2018 and a fight with AJ would be well-received by fans. He’s proven he can handle one of the best boxers in the world right now, but a fight against AJ would be a whole other matter.
Undefeated in 28 fights – winning 27 of them – Fury would prove a real test to AJ and should AJ win, it would signal that he is the best in the world.