Eddie Hearn has suggested that Anthony Joshua is ‘in talks’ over a potential crossover fight, which could take place before he fights Tyson Fury in 2026.
Joshua improved his professional record to 29-4 with a sixth-round knockout victory against Jake Paul in Miami on December 19 and is already looking to the future.
The Brit was simply too good for Paul, who tried to avoid AJ until the 36-year-old’s class shone through in round five as he floored the American twice before going on to finish the fight the following round after landing a brutal right hand.
Paul confirmed that he would be taking a break from the sport following his defeat, during which he suffered a double jaw break.
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As for Joshua, he has been heavily linked with a fight against fellow Englishman Fury, with the Watford-born heavyweight calling him out after his victory against Paul.
This came after The Ring reported that the fight is “as close as it has ever been to finally happening”, last week.
The report suggests that both fighters will have separate bouts before going toe-to-toe in 2026.
Following Joshua’s win against Paul, Matchroom Boxing chief Hearn issued an update on the fighter’s potential next fight.
Hearn teased a potential crossover fight against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven.
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“We’ve been talking about a possible fight with Turki Alalshikh,” Hearn said.
“A couple of opponents mentioned. The biggest challenge is it’s eight weeks tonight.
“You know, he had a very tough camp. Eight or nine weeks with a team who gave him a good working over.
“We will sit down with that team and talk about when he will be ready to return.
“In an ideal world, that would be the time, but we are going to see when he is ready.
“Rico, or whoever it is, we haven’t finalised that yet.
“The plan is to fight in the spring and then obviously fight Tyson Fury.
“We’re not gonna rush him back if he’s not ready, but it won’t be long.
“The plan is to fight in the spring and then obviously fight Tyson Fury.”
The 36-year-old has competed in the heavyweight division of GLORY, defending his title a record 13 times over a 12-year reign as champion.
However, he vacated the title in November, having beaten Russian fighter Artem Vakhitov last time out at GLORY 100 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, in June.
Verhoeven previously won his only professional boxing match against Janos Finfera back in 2014.
Topics: Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn, Tyson Fury, Boxing, Jake Paul
Luke Davies