Anthony Joshua is preparing to return to training camp as he targets a comeback fight this summer, with a possible future clash against Tyson Fury still being considered.
Joshua, 36, last stepped into the ring on December 19 when he defeated Jake Paul by stoppage in the sixth round. However, just ten days after that victory, he was involved in a devastating road accident in Nigeria that resulted in the deaths of two of his close associates — Kevin ‘Latz’ Ayodele and recovery therapist Sina Ghami.
Although Joshua survived the crash, he has spent the past months recovering from injuries while also mourning the loss of his friends.
The two-time heavyweight champion has since returned to training at Finchley, the amateur gym where he first began his boxing journey, while his promoter Eddie Hearn hinted that a summer fight could be on the horizon.
Speaking to iFL TV, Hearn said: “We’re very close to returning to training camp.
“And I feel like AJ is physically and perhaps mentally ready to throw himself back in to that environment.
“And it’s exciting, I mean, for everything that he’s been through and all the pain, I don’t think that will leave.
“But he has a career and he has a job to do in that respect, which he wants to continue doing. And I’m excited to see him back.
“I feel like with fighters – some may disagree watching this – but generally I feel like they’re at their happiest when they’re in training camp.
“Like everything’s there. The regiment is there, the discipline is there, the focus is there, intention’s there, the end goal is there.
“And although it’s a lot of hard work, I really feel like AJ as well when he’s in training camp, that’s him.”
Joshua had initially been discussing a return to Saudi Arabia for a potential summer bout against Fury.
Meanwhile, Fury is scheduled to face Arslanbek Makhmudov in a comeback fight at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 11.
Hearn suggested that Joshua could return to the ring before a possible showdown with Fury but did not rule out the chance of both fighters meeting immediately.
He said: “The March fight now becomes probably July, and if the Fury fight is still there, that probably becomes November, something like that.
“So there’s been discussions about going straight into a Fury fight. Obviously, he’s got his fight against Makhmudov.
“With everything that’s happened, I expect him to have a fight first and that fight to come in the summer.
“But you never know how he feels, and you might feel fantastic, and he might say, ‘Let’s let’s go straight in.’ I don’t think so.
“Given the fact that he only had a few rounds against Jake Paul and everything that’s happened as well, unfortunately.
“But until he gets back into training camp, there’ll be there’ll be no decisions on the actual route that we take.”