British boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has confirmed that former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will make a return to the ring in February 2026.
Joshua has not fought since suffering a brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024 at Wembley Stadium, London.
‘AJ’ has been sidelined for the majority of 2025 due to minor injuries he sustained from the showdown with ‘Triple D.’
In an interview with Sky Sports on Thursday, Hearn stated that Joshua has not agreed to fight in Africa this December, with February a ‘solid date’ for his next bout.
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“No, definitely not (fight in Africa agreed). There’s all kinds of rumours swirling around about Anthony Joshua at the moment,” Hearn told Sky Sports on Thursday.
“As always in the boxing world, maybe 5 per cent are right and 95 per cent are wrong. The situation is he’s in camp, he’s started his training camp now. We had talked about the possibility of some kind of run-out fight this year.
“I think as the days pass, that becomes less likely. February is the solid date for an AJ fight. Now, whether that’s a second fight or whether that’s his first fight back, we’ll see.
“As I said, at this stage, it feels like February will be his next fight. But we talked before about it being difficult for AJ because you come back off what will be a year and a half out of the ring at that point and you’re thrust back into a massive arena or stadium.”
