{"id":240279,"date":"2025-11-02T22:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-11-02T22:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/240279\/"},"modified":"2025-11-02T22:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T22:02:14","slug":"eddie-hearn-says-anthony-joshuas-2025-return-will-be-a-development-undercard-to-prepare-him-for-a-massive-gamble-in-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/240279\/","title":{"rendered":"Eddie Hearn Says Anthony Joshua\u2019s 2025 Return Will Be A \u201cDevelopment\u201d Undercard To Prepare Him For A Massive Gamble In 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eddie Hearn confirmed last night that if Anthony Joshua fights before the end of 2025, it\u2019ll be a contest for \u201cdevelopment\u201d to get him \u201c100% ready\u201d\u00a0for a \u201cbig gamble\u201d bout in 2026. He states that this would be an undercard bout for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) and not a headline job.<\/p>\n

Who Fits Joshua\u2019s \u201cDevelopment\u201d Blueprint?<\/p>\n

Hearn\u2019s mention of a \u201cbig gamble\u201d for Joshua suggests that he\u2019s not let go of his vision of the \u201cbattle of Britain\u201d happening between him and Tyson Fury in 2026. It appears that he\u2019s not taking Fury entirely seriously about his wanting to stay retired due to his age, gray hair, and being \u201ctoo rich\u201d to continue.<\/p>\n

Fury is the only one that Hearn has shown eagerness about matching Joshua against, and it\u2019s understandable why. He\u2019s easily the most popular heavyweight in the division by a long shot. Undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has already beaten Joshua twice, and it would be pointless for a third fight to be made. Fans don\u2019t want to watch Joshua lose for a third time, and it\u2019s doubtful that Hearn would bother pushing for that type of contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be no big-name fight this year unless it\u2019s Jake Paul,\u201d said promoter Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social<\/a> about Anthony Joshua\u2019s status for his next fight. \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be a headline. It wouldn\u2019t be a pay-per-view. You don\u2019t have to moan about it. It can be part of something that already existed and on sale. So, there will be no one moaning.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Slow, Chinny, and Weak Candidate Pool<\/p>\n

If Joshua does choose to fight on an undercard in December, it\u2019s going to have to be someone who is slow, chinny, and weak. It would be too risky to put AJ in with one of the live dogs, like Fabio Wardley, Agit Kabayel, or Moses Itauma, and watch him get knocked out.<\/p>\n

Five Safe Choices for Joshua\u2019s December Return<\/p>\n

Arslanbek Makhmudov
\nMichael Hunter
\nMahmoud Charr
\nGuido Vianello
\nStephan Shaw<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just part of the development to get into position to be 100% ready for the big gamble [in 2026]. It doesn\u2019t matter where. It\u2019s not an Anthony Joshua fight night,\u201d said Hearn about Joshua\u2019s next fight if he were to return to the ring in 2025. \u201cThis year, no,\u201d said Eddie about AJ not headlining if he fights in 2025.<\/p>\n

Finding the Right Fall Guy for AJ\u2019s Tune-Up<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know about the Joshua \u201cdevelopment\u201d talk that Hearn is talking about. That sounds like double speak. Joshua is 36, and is as developed as he\u2019s ever going to be. It\u2019s more about making AJ look like pure gold in December, sharpening him up a little, and preserving him by ensuring he destroys his opponent without getting hit with anything big.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf he fights this year, he won\u2019t headline because it\u2019s not going to be one of those types. We want to work almost in silence, improve, and get into the mode to be 100% ready. This is about development and getting a bit of activity,\u201d said Hearn.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since 2014, Olly Campbell has brought readers clear ringside perspective and a steady voice on boxing\u2019s biggest nights.<\/p>\n

Boxing News 24<\/a> \u00bb – An Analyst’s Perspective<\/a> \u00bb Eddie Hearn Says Anthony Joshua\u2019s 2025 Return Will Be a \u201cDevelopment\u201d Undercard to Prepare Him for a Massive Gamble in 2026<\/p>\n

Last Updated on 11\/02\/2025 \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eddie Hearn confirmed last night that if Anthony Joshua fights before the end of 2025, it\u2019ll be a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":29047,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[18061,2560,18062,18059,6573,18060,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-240279","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-anb-arena","tag-boxing","tag-fight-niight","tag-mark-robinson","tag-matchroom-boxing","tag-riyadh-season","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240279","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240279"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240279\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}