Eddie Hearn has revealed a decision on Anthony Joshua’s next opponent will be made sometime next week. Joshua had been due to fight Jarrell Miller at Madison Square Garden in New York on June 1 but that bout is now off after ‘Big Baby’ was refused a boxing licence following an adverse finding from a drug test.
Unified world heavyweight champion Joshua, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBO belts, is still pressing ahead for his planned US debut on that same date and a number of potential opponents are being considered. Speaking about AJ’s situation, Hearn revealed his team are contemplating who will take on the Briton, confirming an American fighter would be preferred ahead of a European boxer.
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“Obviously it’s a fight in America, so from our point of view, we would like an American challenger really,” he told Sky Sports News. “I don’t think it will be Dillian Whyte. You go through the list: Luis Ortiz; Adam Kownacki; Michael Hunter; Manuel Charr; Agit Kabayel, the European champion who beat Derek Chisora.
“There are probably seven or eight guys I think would fit the bill. Being an American debut, in an ideal world, we would like it to be an American, or someone that fights in America. “We’re going through that and we’re going to be working hard in the next couple of days. There will be an announcement from us in the early part of next week, locking in Anthony Joshua’s next opponent.”
