Anthony Joshua wants to fight again this year and is willing to take on all comers after removing any doubt over his future generated by another defeat to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua declared “I’m a fighter for life, the hunger never dies” as he plans a return to the ring in December when he will begin rebuilding in the wake of his split-decision loss to the Ukrainian pound-for-pound star in Jeddah.
Promoter Eddie Hearn wants Joshua to have three or four fights next year with a view to him eventually becoming a three-time world heavyweight champion.
While the 32-year-old fell to the third defeat of his career, a cathartic performance that corrected the wrongs of Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last September means he remains a force in the division even if he is no longer at its pinnacle.
“I spoke to Eddie and asked him if it’s possible to get out in November because momentum is important in boxing. Eddie said December,” Joshua said.
“If it’s about who I fight, it’s come one, come all. Whoever wants it can get it, I don’t mind.”
Usyk is pursuing a unification fight with Tyson Fury in the hope of adding the WBC belt to the WBA, IBF and WBO titles he successfully defended on a gripping night at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena.
Joshua, meanwhile, will campaign in the division’s second tier where Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder and Joe Joyce are lucrative options once he has banked more rounds against less dangerous opponents.
Fury, whose last fight was a knockout victory over Whyte in April, recently reaffirmed his intention to retire from boxing, but appeared to suggest in a social media post immediately after Usyk’s victory that he would return to the ring.