THE working timeline for Anthony Joshua’s ring return has been revealed.
The former two-time unified heavyweight champion hasn’t set foot in the ring since his demolition at the hands of Daniel Dubois in September.
A rematch with Dubois was slated for February until AJ was convinced by his team to recover from niggling injuries.
And the golden boy of British boxing, according to Matchroom CEO Frank Smith, is now on course for a summer return.
In an interview with BetFred, he said: “There’s a lot of movement in the heavyweight division.
“You’ve got Daniel Dubois vs Joseph Parker on February 22nd , we’ve got to wait and see what Oleksandr Usyk does next.
“But I think you’ll see Anthony Joshua back out in the summer.”
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A long-overdue domestic dust-up with Tyson Fury finally appeared to be on the cards for AJ after his fellow Brit suffered a second-straight defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last December.
But the Gypsy King seemingly put the final nail in the coffin of the Battle of Britain earlier this month by announcing his FIFTH retirement.
Long-time AJ pal and promoter Eddie Hearn, however, isn’t buying Fury’s latest hanging up of the gloves.
The Matchroom Boxing chief told iFL TV: “I saw that coming.
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“I think, if you ever want to come back and get the max you’ve gotta retire first, ain’t you?
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“Someone’s gotta bring you out of retirement. So listen, if that’s the last we see of Tyson Fury, good luck to him.
“I doubt it, personally, but whatever he chooses to do much respect to him.”
He later told The Daily Mail: “None of us know what Fury will do next.
“But if we are to see the fight in the summer, he would probably have to come out of retirement in the next three or four weeks.
“After that, the summer gets difficult for a fight of this size.
“The future? Hopefully – I think he will be back, but it’s in his hands.
“For AJ, we have options to pursue and we are looking at them currently.”
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Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
