What's Next for Anthony Joshua?

In front of a packed Wembley Stadium, Anthony Joshua went on collect his 22nd victory Saturday night with a 7th round knockout of the stouthearted Russian, Alexander Povetkin. Joshua now holds an impressive 22-0 record, with 21 of those victories coming by way of knockout. Joshua encountered, perhaps unexpectedly, a great deal of pressure from Povetkin in the early rounds of the fight, but settled down and found his jab by round 4. AJ was then able to hurt Povetkin with a big right hand, leading to a stoppage shortly after.

Another big crowd, another win, and another knockout for Joshua against a top 5 heavyweight, padding Joshua's already impressive resume, with victories over the likes of Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, and Joseph Parker. Normally, this would be grounds for praise and celebration, but before this fight even took place, boxing fans were all wondering the same thing. What's next?

All boxing fans can agree on one thing, we want to see Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder. This fight has been labelled as inevitable, and we'd like to think that this is true. The best vs. the best. Unification of the heavyweight division. But with the announcement of Wilder vs. Britain's other heavyweight superstar, Tyson Fury, to take place in the US on December 1st, this fight became much less inevitable, at least in the short term.

Wilder vs. Fury is a massive fight. Arguably, the second biggest heavyweight fight that could be made right now, but for the time being, it takes Wilder's attention off of the Joshua fight. Eddie Hearn and Joshua have Wembley Stadium booked for Joshua's next fight on April 13th, 2019. Given the highly publicised, unsuccessful negations that took place in the summer, it casts significant doubt on the ability of both sides to reach a deal, in what will be less than 5 months after the fight on December 1st.

We know Wilder wants the fight, we know Joshua wants the fight, and we certainly know the fans want the fight. It is apparent that this is not enough to make the fight happen and the question remains whether their respective team's can come to an agreement, and make it happen.

Post Povetkin fight, Eddie Hearn stated that if the fight were to happen, a deal must be reached by December 1st. The idea that Wilder would do so before his fight with Tyson Fury is absurd, and appears to be another one of Hearn's tactics to make the negotiations between the two parties, difficult.

As Joshua and Wilder seemingly only fight twice a year, if we don't get the Wilder Joshua fight in April, we will likely have to wait another year (or longer) to see it happen. If this is the case, who will share the ring with Joshua in April? The easy answer is the Dillian Whyte rematch. This is clearly what Eddie Hearn wants, and is certainly a fight that makes sense, and should happen eventually. The first fight was exciting, when at the time, Whyte had Joshua hurt for the first time in his pro career, only to later be knocked out with a Joshua uppercut in the 7th. Whyte, who has self-proclaimed his transformation from a brawler, to a boxer since this fight, proved this may actually be the case with an impressive victory over Joseph Parker in July.

Another option for April 13th, is the recently DAZN signed American heavyweight, Jarrell Miller, who has also expressed interest in fighting the British superstar with his antics at the Joshua-Povetkin press conference in July. For those who hope for Joshua and Fury to share the ring anytime soon, well if you thought Wilder's team and Hearn had a heard time reaching agreement, calling Fury's promoter, Frank Warren, and Eddie Hearn 'rivals' would be a serious understatement. Following the Povetkin fight, Fury took to social media to express his feelings about the Joshua team stating that neither the "bum" Anthony Joshua nor any of Eddie's team will ever fight him.

One thing that is certain, is that regardless of who Joshua fights in April, boxing fans will watch, but a part of us will be left unsatisfied until we get to the "inevitable" super fight, Anthony Joshua vs. Deontay Wilder.