The founder of Matchroom Sport, Eddie Hearn, who is associated with the promotion of former boxing champion Anthony Joshua, recently interviewed with IFL TV, where he revealed that AJ will fight three times this year: in April, July, and December.
Though the British promoter did not disclose the name of the opponent Joshua will face in April, he did confirm that the 33-year-old wants big fights this year and hopes to face Dillian Whyte in the middle of the year.
“AJ wants a big fight in the summer, and the one that makes sense should be quite straightforward to make is the rematch with Dillian Whyte.”
Hearn also stated that he has proposed the fight to Whyte and is confident that the rematch will take place, but that he is currently more focused on Joshua’s fight on April 1st, and that once the opponent is finalized, his team will begin the conversion with Whyte.
“I spoke to Dillian, and the plan is to try and make that for the summer fight. Obviously, AJ has to deal with April 1st. Once we do that deal with Dillian, and then we’ll look at when he fights as well. Let’s see if we can find a deal between those two for the summer.”
Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte showing respect after Whyte's win over Jermaine Franklin tonight… pic.twitter.com/j743g1GfPX
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) November 26, 2022
Hearn’s team will negotiate regarding Whyte’s return date, which he expects to be in July.
“That’s the first thing we’ll do, and then we’ll look at the date for Dillian Whyte’s return. He will want to fight again before July, and probably around the same time as AJ, and that’s really the route for Dillian Whyte.
In their last face-off in 2015, “The Villain” tasted a TKO defeat against AJ, and coming off back-to-back losses against Oleksandr Usyk, it will be hard for the Watford native to step into the ring confidently, so it will be a great fight to follow.
