Anthony Joshua’s 17-Month Absence And The Search For A Top-15 Opponent In Early 2026

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua will be fighting in “early 2026” against a heavyweight in the “top 15 world rankings” for his tune-up. Hearn states that he’s not interested in a Jake Paul fight after he chose to face lightweight Gervonta Davis in an exhibition match on November 14, 2025.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) turns 36 on October 15, and he’ll have been out of the ring for 16 to 17 months when he fights in January or February 2026. AJ is coming off of elbow surgery. The tune-up fight that could have happened this year against Paul fell apart when the popular YouTuber turned boxer chose to fight Tank Davis.

Joshua’s New Path

“We’re not interested in the Jake Paul fight after that,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing News when asked about Anthony Joshua’s plans for his next fight.

Hearn’s comment about him no longer being interested in a fight between Joshua and Paul reflects retired former world champion Carl Froch’s comment on his YouTube channel that AJ and Eddie had been “hustled” by Jake.

What Froch meant is he believes Paul had “played a blinder” by being in talks with Hearn for a Joshua fight, but then signing to fight Gervonta Davis to an exhibition clash on November 14, 2025. In other words, Froch believes that Jake had used the interest in a potential fight with Joshua while negotiating for the match against Tank Davis.

Navigating the Rankings

“For us, the plan was always to have a comeback warm-up fight, and that’s still the plan. It’s going to be someone from the top 15 world rankings,” said Hearn about AJ’s next clash. “He’s [Joshua] training, and he’ll be ready to go, probably now in early 2026. We haven’t discussed any opponents yet, but we’ll definitely want that comeback fight before next summer. Hopefully, that’s against Tyson Fury, but we’ll have to see.”

There aren’t many safe choices from the top 15 for Joshua to fight in a tune-up. Many of them are powerful, hungry, and would pose a threat to Joshua.

The Danger of Top 15

Danger of the lower-ranked fighters in the top tier:

Bakhodir Jalolov
Richard Torrez Jr.
Filip Hrgovic
Deontay Wilder
Efe Ajagba
Murat Gassiev

“Strong rumors are emerging from North London that Joshua, the former unified heavyweight world champion, will face Tony Yoka — and not Paul or Fury — next… Will that fight be the tune-up he needs?” said writer Nick Parkinson to ESPN about a potential next opponent for Joshua in early 2026.