Anthony Joshua’s next fight could be a rematch against Joseph Parker, according to the British heavyweight’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
Hearn revealed that Joshua is currently recovering from an injury sustained following his fifth-round knockout by Daniel Dubois in September that is preventing him from training at full throttle.
The 35-year-old has not fought since being crushed by Dubois at Wembley but was hoping to agree a lucrative showdown with Tyson Fury only for that to fall through when his British rival announced his retirement.
With Dubois and Oleksandr Usyk potentially meeting in a clash that would unify all four main belts, Joshua could take on Parker, who he conclusively outpointed in 2018.
“There was a niggle after the Dubois fight. He went back into camp and he’s just not ready to start punching yet with the same ferocity that he needs to,” Hearn told Sky Sports.
“There are two fights for AJ that really stoke the fire. One is the rematch with Daniel Dubois and the other one is Tyson Fury, which is out of our control at the moment.
“We hope that something can kickstart that fight but that’s down to Tyson.
“If he doesn’t fight one of those two guys, he has to fight someone else and he’s going to want to fight someone in the top 10.
“And Joseph Parker right now is on one of the hottest runs. If Dubois doesn’t fight Usyk, I’d like to see him fight Parker as well because Joe deserves a shot at the world heavyweight title.
“If there’s a big unification fight, undisputed, then Joe’s going to need another dance partner and maybe it’s a Joshua rematch.”
