ANTHONY JOSHUA’S anticipated comeback is surrounded by mystery – with the heavyweight star preparing to fight unannounced.
AJ is set for a late-notice return to the ring which promoter Eddie Hearn has teased could come before the end of the year.
Hearn’s December 20 show in Ghana – Matchroom’s first event in Africa – has emerged as a front-runner host for Joshua’s next fight.
But Hearn also remains in talks with Jake Paul’s camp as the YouTuber-turned-boxer searches for a replacement to Gervonta Davis.
Hearn confirmed Joshua is likely to go into his next fight without a proper announcement or media obligations – focusing purely on just the bout.
He said: “If he fights this year, you probably won’t even hear about it unless it’s Jake Paul. We would literally rock up on fight week.
“We’ve already got opponents that we’ve been talking to about a run out fight.
“But the whole point of them is to not have to come and do this and just chill out, turn up on the Wednesday or Thursday, weigh in, wrap your hands and go and fight.
“And it’s got nothing to do with the financials. It’s just to do with getting back into the groove of fighting, because every time he fights, he has to go to a stadium and fight in front of 60,000 people in a tough fight.
“It’s almost like, ‘Can I just go out and just give me one to get back on?’ I admire the fact that he wants to do that because it shows you his hunger for boxing.
Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 – all the info
TIME for round two of this generation’s family feud!
Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn go punch-for-punch once again as both rivals look to make their fathers proud.
The blockbuster rematch takes place at the 62,000-seater Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday, November 15.
Eubank Jr narrowly outpointed his bitter foe after 12 brutal rounds in April to secure the bragging rights in what was certainly a Fight of the Year contender.
And the two British superstars will dance once more as Eubank Jr aims to do the double while Benn seeks revenge after suffering a first career loss.
WATCH EUBANK JR VS BENN 2 ONLY ON DAZN
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“The fact that – I’m gonna say he’s not getting paid – but it’s like what difference does it make? So yeah, again, we’ll make that decision this week.
“But outside of Jake Paul, if he fought this year, you really wouldn’t really know about it.”
Paul, 28, was due to fight lightweight champion Davis, 30, in an exhibition bout in Miami this week.
But the event – due to air on Netflix – was cancelled after Davis’ ex-girlfriend filed a civil suit alleging domestic abuse.
Hearn put Joshua’s name forward as a replacement – with talks between the two camps still ongoing behind the scenes.
He revealed: “We will make a decision this week. If we were to have a run out, a run out against Jake Paul would be quite pleasant.
“I’m not sure he’s that mad. He might be, but nothing major to report at this stage, but I know they’re gonna make a decision themselves about what they’re gonna do.”
Paul’s next fight is due to be on Netflix while AJ is exclusive to streaming rival DAZN and Hearn added: “That would be another issue to overcome.
“So there’s a lot of issues to overcome, but if he really wanted it, there’s probably ways to make it happen.”
Joshua, 36, is yet to return since his September 2024 knockout loss to Daniel Dubois, 28, at Wembley.
He has since recovered from elbow surgery in the summer and looks to be trying out a new training team despite not yet splitting with head coach Ben Davison.
Hearn revealed: “Obviously he went to the Usyk camp. He’s done that plenty of times before.
“He went to the Canelo camp, he went to Robert Garcia’s, he went to Derek James. He went to other places he didn’t take on long term.
“He’ll make a decision about his training team, but that trip was more just for a little fact finding mission and to have a look about how others work.”
