Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested that Anthony Joshua could fight Deontay Wilder before locking horns with Tyson Fury in an all-British heavyweight clash later in the year.
There's few British rivalries bigger than Fury-Joshua, despite the two having never fought, and recent reports imply that the king-sized stars could be set to take to the ring in an eagerly anticipated heavyweight bout in 2026.
The Gypsy King will make his long-awaited return to the ring against Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night, just shy of 16 months on from his second successive defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
While AJ is yet to return to the ring since defeating Jake Paul via KO in December, an announcement is seemingly imminent and Hearn disclosed the former two-time unified heavyweight champion's plans when speaking to Fight Hub TV.
The Matchroom chairman said:
"We need a warm-up fight before we fight Tyson Fury because AJ's coming off the accident, he's rehabilitating his body etc.
"We'll take Deontay Wilder as that warm-up fight, and then we'll fight Tyson Fury in December.
"By the way, I respect Wilder and I think he looked much better in that fight than he has done previously.
"But let me tell you, because I was six feet away, Anthony Joshua will walk through Deontay Wilder within three rounds."
Seemingly adamant that Joshua needs a warm-up fight before locking horns with Fury, Wilder has been mooted as the ideal opponent.
The Bronze Bomber clashed with Derek Chisora on MF Pro's card last weekend, defeating Del Boy via split decision in a gruelling 12-round bout that proved both heavyweights have had their best days in the ring.
Nonetheless, it was an entertaining spectacle that sold out the O2 Arena and it'd be naive to assume that Joshua is beyond Wilder's level, especially when taking into account that AJ's last two victories have come against Paul, YouTuber-turned-boxer, and Francis Ngannou, who has lost both of his professional boxing bouts.
It feels as though all paths lead to Fury vs Joshua at some stage in 2026, but who will AJ entertain before the all-British battle?
