Joshua ‘might be thinking of retiring’ after delaying return

Former super middleweight world champion George Groves believes Anthony Joshua may be “evaluating his options” and may even consider retiring after two losses in a row.

AJ recently extended the bye period between his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk and his next fight. He is now expected to box around January or February of next year instead of the originally scheduled date of December 17 at Wembley Arena.

When asked about the purpose of Joshua’s longer break, Groves said iFL TV: “He has been a unified world champion for a long time and then he faces these losses. So he might need a little mental break, it might be that the right fight isn’t for him right now.

“If it’s not right for him, then yeah, take a break. He might be weighing his future anyway, he’s accomplished a lot in his career, he must have made a lot of money and been involved in mega nights.

Since then, Whyte and Joshua have established themselves as world-class heavyweights and there is considerable interest from both sides in staging a rematch. Whyte returns to the ring for the first time since Tyson Fury knocked him out in April against undefeated American Jermaine Franklin on November 26.

Provided he rises to the challenge, Joshua vs Whyte could be staged in a UK stadium to kick off the boxing schedule.

“In terms of names, I was talking to him the other day, he wants to fight Dillian Whyte,” Hearn told the outlet. DAZN boxing show. Whyte fights on November 26 against Franklin, who is talking about a tremendous game, so we have to see how that plays out.

“But I think Dillian Whyte is probably the favorite if she does come. Otto Wallin is a guy who has come close several times, I think it’s a good fight for him as well. And then there’s the Wilder situation, I’m not saying it’s a January or February fight, but it’s a fight he’s definitely looking at.

“AJ’s feeling is the value of a tune-up fight…sometimes they are always as dangerous as each other. I don’t think he wants to start dropping out of the top 10 and top 15 of the governing bodies and just go for an easy touch, I think he wants a real fight and those are real fights you can see him in.”