Anthony Joshua will retire after 2026, says promoter Eddie Hearn

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn believes 2026 will serve as Anthony Joshua‘s final year in professional boxing.

As we know, Anthony Joshua is in search of boxing redemption right now. He was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in their Wembley Stadium collision in his last outing and now, he’s trying to look ahead to better days. He’s been in this game for a long time and although he’s had a lot of great moments, he’s also had a lot of lows too.

For Anthony Joshua’s sake, the hope is that things will get better as we look ahead to the future. Of course, there’s no confirmation as to who he’s going to face when he gets back into the ring, but the popular opinion is that he’ll finally square off with Tyson Fury – so long as ‘The Gypsy King’ agrees to break his retirement.

Speaking of retirement, the idea of Anthony Joshua retiring is something that has been floated on more than one occasion as of late. Up to this point, there had been no indication that he was seriously contemplating it, noting that he wanted to get back in there and prove himself.

Now, however, in a recent interview, Eddie Hearn has declared that next year, 2026, could be the final time we see Anthony Joshua compete.

Eddie Hearn drops Anthony Joshua bombshell

“Probably 2026 will be his last year in the sport,” Hearn said on The Ariel Helwani Show.

“I mean you never know, but thinking about it, it’s probably three fights away. If I’m advising AJ I’m thinking, ‘We’re back this year, two Tyson Fury fights, what else is there to do?’.

“He maybe could fight a Daniel Dubois, but I think for me, once AJ fights a Tyson Fury, he’s kind of done it all.

“I’d love him to have another crack at Dubois, I’d love him to have another crack at (Oleksandr) Usyk. If we get to 2026 and he’s firing on all cylinders then 2026 won’t be his last year.

“But for me, something feels right about beating Tyson Fury twice and then sailing off into the sunset.”

Quotes via MSN