Five opponents Anthony Joshua could face on comeback
By Nathan Smith
With 2026 potentially the last year of Anthony Joshua’s career, let’s take a look at five opponents he could start his comeback run against.
Anthony Joshua has been one of Britain’s biggest and best heavyweights in modern history, and looks set to return to the ring.
Currently recovering from elbow surgery, the former Unified World Heavyweight champion is currently in talks with Riyadh season for a three fight deal.
Whilst that operation has seen his comeback delayed, there is still plenty of attention on who AJ will face off against next.
As his long-time promoter Eddie Hearn believes that 2026 will be Joshua’s final year in the sport, let’s look at five opponents he could face next.
Whoever Joshua fights next, make sure to check out the boxing bookies list on first.com, to find the best place to make your bet.
Fabio Wardley
There is a lot of attention on Fabio Wardley at the moment, following his spectacular knockout win over heavyweight prospect Justis Huni.
In front of a packed Portman Road, the Ipswich born and bred fighter stunned the world in the tenth round, with a perfect punch snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.
A former white collar boxer, his path into championship glory has been a unique one, and he has built an impressive resume, currently standing at 19-0.
His undeniable power makes a match-up with Joshua appealing to the neutral, with questions being asked about the durability of AJ.
However, the Londoner is the much better boxer, and will bring a technical advantage into the fight similar to Huni, who had won the vast majority of rounds heading into the tenth.
A win against Wardley could be the perfect step to showcase that this isn’t the end of Joshua, although a loss would most likely be the end of the road.
Tyson Fury
The fight that everyone has wanted to see for years now, there have been many circumstances preventing Tyson Fury meeting Joshua in the ring, often on the former’s side.
Fury has never seemed keen to take the fight against Joshua, despite most people considering him the favourite in any fantasy match-up.
Having suffered back-to-back defeats against Olexandyr Usyk, the Gypsy King declared his retirement from boxing, having achieved an awful lot in his career.
However, boxers are never truly retired, and the money that could be made from this all-star British heavyweight clash could be too much for Fury to turn down.
It is a fight that is tough to call, with Fury most likely having the advantage in a lot of areas, but there must have been reason for the former WBC not to take the fight when both guys were in their prime.
Whatever happens in the ring, if Fury and Joshua gets made, the world will be watching.
Zhilei Zhang
A fight that was heavily rumoured to be in the works before Joshua’s setback, Zhelei Zhang represents an interesting warm-up test for the Brit.
The 42-year-old recovered from defeat against Filip Hrgovic in superb fashion, beating Joe Joyce twice in a row, both by stoppage.
It looked to be all over for Zhang, having lost to Parker before being put in what looked like a tune-up fight for Deontay Wilder, until Big Bang made light work of the Bronze Bomber, knocking him out in the fifth round.
This is what makes Zhang an interesting proposition for AJ, with there being no real reason why Joshua could not ease past the Chinese fighter, yet the Wilder fight will play in people’s minds.
Unless he’s fighting Fury, a defeat would probably bring Joshua’s career to an end, and if these two do battle, then it will be a tense evening for AJ fans.
Agit Kabayel
Agit Kabayel holds an impressive win against the aforementioned Zhang, and has gone under the radar as the new biggest contender on the heavyweight scene.
Before beating Big Bang, Kabayel scored wins over two undefeated fighters in Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez, taking him to a record of 26-0.
He was able to outclass Zhang in their fight, switching up his targets and utilising his technical advantage.
This would be the lowest profile fight out of the five options, with Kabayel possessing a genuine chance of winning, and that makes this fight unlikely.
Dillian Whyte
The breakout rivalry for both fighters in their career, Dillian Whyte was knocked out by Joshua in the 7th round of their 2015 fight.
Ten years on, and we still have rumours of a rematch between the two, but the inconsistency of the pair has led to a second fight not being made.
Whyte is in a similar situation to AJ, as he approaches the end of his career, but he has put three wins together against Benjamin Franklin, Christian Hammer and Ebenezer Tetteh.
These aren’t fights that jump off the page, but it does put Whyte in a position for a bigger fight, and Joshua is a more appealing name financially than Moses Ituama or Wardley, who Whyte’s been rumoured to have next.
An opportunity to right the wrongs of their previous bout will appeal to Whyte, and the Body Snatcher could be a great opponent to kickstart Joshua’s final year as a fighter.