Joshua has seven-man shortlist for next fight | Boxing News

Eddie Hearn has insisted Anthony Joshua is just not short of choices for his next bout, even when Tyson Fury stays retired.

In a beautiful flip of occasions on Monday, Fury introduced he was stepping away from boxing. The ‘Gypsy King’ selected to retire following his defeat within the rematch towards Oleksandr Usyk final month in Riyadh. “Hi everybody, I’m going to make this short and sweet,” Fury declared. “I’d like to announce my retirement from boxing, it has been a blast, I’ve loved every single minute of it and I’m going to end with this; Dick Turpin wore a mask.”

This transfer by Fury scuppers any hopes for a much-anticipated all-British conflict with Joshua. Nonetheless, chatting with The Sun, Joshua’s promoter assured followers that ‘AJ’ has a wealth of potential contenders for his forthcoming fight. Among the names talked about are Martin Bakole, Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, Zhilei Zhang, Agit Kabayel, Daniel Dubois, and Joseph Parker. Joshua suffered a knockout by the hands of Dubois of their September showdown.Since then, ‘Triple D’ has expressed curiosity in a rematch with ‘AJ’, which appeared set for February. However, Hearn has indicated that Joshua is not prepared for the rematch simply but resulting from minor accidents sustained of their initial encounter.

Dubois is now set to conflict with Parker in Riyadh on February 22 in a much-anticipated duel. This heavyweight encounter has the potential to pave the best way for one of them to face Joshua next. Post their 2018 match-up, Parker would relish the possibility to even the rating with ‘AJ’ ought to he prevail towards ‘Triple D’. Meanwhile, Bakole issued a blistering problem to Joshua and is now seen as a doable opponent for the Watford-born pugilist.

The two have sparred beforehand, and at 31, Bakole cements his top-contender standing after defeating Jared Anderson. He taunted Joshua, saying: “Anthony Joshua, I called you out. I wanted to knock you out,” and “Now you’re talking s**** to say Ajagba is going to beat me. “Shame on you. How many occasions did I call you out? How many occasions did I ask you to fight in Africa? You needs to be ashamed of your self. I wish to fight you. I wish to knock you out. Look at Daniel Dubois, I broke his nostril twice. He knocked you out cold. If you fight me, I’ll knock you out within the first spherical.

“You’re talking about Ajagba. Ajagba is a baby. Wait till you see how I knock him out. I invite you to be there. You’re talking s***. I want to fight you. Stop talking nonsense. Now you’re saying you’re Nigerian. You’re not British anymore? I’ll knock you out. I’m an African giant. I’m an African warrior. After knocking out Ajagba, I will knock you out as well.”

A rematch with Whyte might be on the playing cards, as boxing fans imagine it could be the perfect warm-up fight earlier than taking over the division’s prime stars. A match with Wilder can be fascinating given their long-standing feud. ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is aiming for a comeback and one vital victory might improve his possibilities of one other high-profile bout. Both Zhang and Kabayel are set to face off next month for the WBC interim title – with the belt guaranteeing them a shot at Usyk’s title or the chance to be promoted ought to the Ukrainian relinquish the gold strap.