Who is next for Anthony Joshua?

[Mark TKO]

Agreed re waiting for Usyk. Unfortunate circumstances but let's be honest he's not going to be able to start a serious training camp anytime soon and he certainly won't leave Ukraine.

It may be he just has to step out of the HW scene for now and come back as a mandatory challenger for whoever holds the belts. With Usyk out the picture should be much clearer for AJ.

AJ could even be well out of the picture by time Usyk comes back....

[Mark TKO]

Why not take the rubber match with Ruiz to keep busy??

[Memphis]

Funny old game init. Lennox Lewis. The great Lennox Lewis had a couple of gimmes after getting chinned by McCall. Lionel Butler and Justin Fortune. Fortune is about four and a half feet tall. Can you imagine the stick Joshua would get if he had a couple of knock over jobs in the interim? All the while people would be clamouring for todays fighters to fight the best of the best "Like they did back in the good old days".

Lewis is lauded for his beatdown of Grant. Grant the next big thing yadda yadda. Would Joshua receive the same praise if he walloped Joe Joyce who is far far more accomplished than Grant? Would he bollocks.

This isn't an anti Lennox Lewis piece by the way. Just a glaring example of how rose tinted people get when looking back on great fighters and how contemporary fighters basically get shat on no matter what they do.

[Master]

AJ should take on a durable but light puncher who will guarantee that he does a number of rounds to embed what he has learnt with the new trainer but not dangerous enough to knock him out.

The challenger should be safe and could even mean it not being a PPV. Staying active is more important.

Wilder and Joyce would be too dangerous at this stage but Ruiz, Wallin or Parker would be safer options.

[Spicoli]

Pretty crazy to see the W.e B.e C.ollecting doesn't even rank AJ now . Never been big on resetting a guy right where he was off a (convincing) loss so he should take a fight as the future of Usyk is completely up in the air. AJ can work out some mental cobwebs and make the headlines for fighting rather than talking about fighting. I mean ffs he's already been passed up by Frank Sanchez and a 55 yr old Luis Ortiz..he needs to get busy. Don't laugh..what about a Helenius? He gets the mass size, the decent jab, ok name and the very probable highlight reel win and his higher ranking.

[TitoFan]

Pretty crazy to see the W.e B.e C.ollecting doesn't even rank AJ now . Never been big on resetting a guy right where he was off a (convincing) loss so he should take a fight as the future of Usyk is completely up in the air. AJ can work out some mental cobwebs and make the headlines for fighting rather than talking about fighting. I mean ffs he's already been passed up by Frank Sanchez and a 55 yr old Luis Ortiz..he needs to get busy. Don't laugh..what about a Helenius? He gets the mass size, the decent jab, ok name and the very probable highlight reel win and his higher ranking.

Exhibit A as to why you take the alphabet rankings plus 3 bucks and you might be able to get a decent cup of coffee at a Starbucks.

A 5-year with a dartboard would come up with comparable rankings.

But the WBC is special (and I have my own meaning for the WBC, but I won't go into that as this isn't the appropriate thread ).

In a universe of misfits, the others can still look down on the WBC as the proverbial bottom of the barrel.

[Master]

“Anthony is in the States at the moment trying out some new trainers and getting his head right. He wants to be active in 2023,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“I think Dillian [Whyte] is on the list. There’s a few other names – Deontay Wilder might be there, Otto Wallin. It’s his call.

“He is at a crossroads in his career. He can’t afford another loss.

“We’re going to see a very interesting 2023 across the whole heavyweight division. Joe Joyce is up there, ‘The Juggernaut’ is a handful. Daniel Dubois is coming back.

“Obviously Tyson Fury is the No. 1 in the world. He’s going to take all the beating, but I think he is quite close to getting the Usyk fight signed off. That’s a hell of a good fight, and a dangerous one.

“I think Usyk is the No. 1 heavyweight in the world. Tyson will disagree with me. Let’s go and see.

“The fight we all want to see eventually is AJ against Fury. You’ll get stories, Tyson will say the fight is never going to happen, Joshua will say he’d rather fight Dillian White. Forget all of that.

“This fight has to happen, and I think it does happen at the tail-end of 2023, for all the marbles.”

https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1...t-barry-hearn/

[Spicoli]

Why not take the rubber match with Ruiz to keep busy??

Was thinking that. Ruiz has lost a Bantamweight in body weight and was being dropped and caught often in his last fight with Arreola. Has the history there, decent risk and great chance to exercise some ghosts. Who knows.

[Mark TKO]

Yep and would definitely sell

[Master]

Derek Chisora wants to box Andy Ruiz Jr in London

Heavyweight boxing veteran Derek Chisora has offered to fight Andy Ruiz Jr in London later this year.

With a 32-12 record in the sport, it’s safe to say Derek Chisora has just about seen it all in this game. Still, even at the age of 38, he’s as hungry as he’s ever been to get in there and compete.

His most recent two-fight series saw him lose consecutive bouts to Joseph Parker, ensuring he now hasn’t registered a win in over two years.

Andy Ruiz Jr, meanwhile, is best known to the masses as the man who shocked the world.

The Mexican sensation caused one of the biggest upsets in the history of heavyweight boxing when he finished Anthony Joshua via TKO at Madison Square Garden. While he did go on to lose the belts six months later in late 2019, Ruiz Jr will forever be remembered as a national hero that once held the WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO heavyweight titles.

Now, he wants to try and climb the mountain for the second time in a division that’s on fire.

After asking fans on social media who they want to see him fight, Ruiz Jr was greeted by the following suggestion from none other than ‘Del Boy’.

“Want to come to London?”

It’s a pretty straightforward challenge and given the potential fireworks this match-up could produce, we’d say it’s something Ruiz Jr will be quite interested in.

One of the most noticeable differences between Andy Ruiz Jr in the first Joshua fight and the second was his weight. The speed that he showcased in NYC didn’t really seem to be on display in the rematch, with his increased size being seen as a big reason for that.

After taking over a year off, the 32-year-old stepped back into the squared circle to take on Chris Arreola in California. The unanimous decision win didn’t blow the masses away but it got him back on the winning trail, which is all it was really designed to do.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/sport/boxi...cid=entnewsntp