Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua 28-3 (25) will enter a period of relative inactivity while he awaits his next assignment in September.
The 34-year-old Brit has looked in career-best form after a 12-month period that saw him box four times for four wins including three knockouts.
But now it looks like he will be spending five months on the sidelines while he waits for his next opportunity.
“Around September is when I’ve been told, I was hoping for June,” said Joshua on The Jonathan Ross Show this week.
“I’ve got some time to go on dates now and mingle a little bit. I’m training at the minute, I’ve got two months before I get into training camp.”
At the top of the table you have WBA, WBO, IBF and Ring Magazine champion Oleksandr Usyk 21-0 (14) set to unify with WBC titleholder Tyson Fury 34-0-1 (24) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on May 18 to determine the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.
The duo are likely to head directly into a rematch regardless of the result, but that move could see the winner stripped of at least one of his belts.
If the rematch is put aside, the obvious opponent for the victor would be Joshua.
“No, [I don’t know the opponent], but I think what they’re saying is ‘be patient’ because you’ve got Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk for all the belts,” Joshua explained. “And then once that’s done, hopefully I can kick down the door and get my opportunity.
“[Fury] is one of my rivals, this is someone I want to compete with one day. So everything he says, I’ve got it all stored in the back of my memory and when the fight happens, I’m going to use it as a lot of fuel.”
Joshua has had a remarkable career since turning pro in 2013 and winning his first world championship three years later. His breakout 11th round knockout win over longtime champion Wladimir Klitschko in 2017 made him a global superstar.
He lost his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to replacement opponent Andy Ruiz Jr by seventh-round knockout in June 2019 but got his revenge six months later, winning on points.
A second title reign extended until September 2021 when he ran into crafty Ukrainian southpaw and former undisputed cruiserweight champion Usyk, who defeated him on points and then repeated the treatment a year later. Joshua took those losses on the chin and rebuilt his career from there, leading to his current purple patch of form.
But Joshua knows he won’t be in the game forever. He admits retirement is never far from his mind.
“I’ve always said 35 [is when I will retire]. I’m 35 in October, I’m thinking another two years or so if my body holds out,” Joshua said.
“I’ve set up certain businesses that I can transition into naturally which don’t rely on me being at the forefront.”
