Anthony Joshua teases sensational switch to different sport leaving fans convinced he’s set for mouthwatering rematch
ANTHONY JOSHUA showed off his kicking skills in his latest behind-the-scenes training footage.
The former heavyweight champion, 34, has strung together four wins on the bounce to haul himself back into the title conversation.
Joshua was last in action on March 8, when he brutally dispatched Francis Ngannou in Riyadh via second round knockout.
The British superstar recently confirmed that he is likely to return to action in September, despite having hoped for an earlier date.
After Joshua shared footage, filmed by CoachB_fitness (Bogdan B.), of himself working on his kicking on Instagram, fans began to speculate that he could sensationally rematch Ngannou in the Cameroonian's specialist discipline, MMA.
One wrote on social media: "Might as well go beat Francis in MMA too."
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While a second joked: "Might as well go to MMA and KO Ngannou."
And a third added: "Bro is coming to finish Ngannou off in MMA."
Fans of MMA, however, took a different angle.
One scoffed: "Yeah buddy stick to boxing you're good at that."
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And a second huffed: "People start doing good in their sport then think they just gonna be able to do anything."
A further social media user reasonably pointed out: "All the keyboard warriors aren't realising he's just getting a new style of training in for other muscle activators that he's never used before. Chill."
Asked by Jonathan Ross when his next fight will be, Joshua recently said: "Around September is when I’ve been told. I was hoping June.
"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."
Derek Chisora reckons that Joshua's return to action will be at Wembley against the winner of the upcoming bout between Daniel Dubois and Filip Hrgovic.
Dubois and Hrgovic are set to do battle on June 1 on the undercard of the undisputed bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia.
Chisora, 40, told of AJ's plans: "He will fight the winner of Daniel Dubois and Hrgovic in Wembley. F*** it, I've got a big mouth.
"That's the plan. It's gonna be a sick, a little adventure for Turki Alalshikh to bring it back to London."
Alternatively, the September date could see Joshua finally face rival Tyson Fury under the Wembley arch.
Lifting the lid on how a deal to make the mega-fight happen could come to pass, AJ's promoter Eddie Hearn told Piers Morgan: "I never thought I would be okay saying I am not the most powerful man in boxing but I am not, Turki Alalshikh is.
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“He is the biggest fight fan I have ever met and all he wants is the biggest fights and the biggest moments.
“Fury and Usyk have a two-fight deal. But if Tyson Fury beats Oleksandr Usyk in the first fight, the whole world is going to say ‘please don’t do the second fight’.";
Will AJ vs Fury actually happen?
SunSport boxing correspondent Wally Downes Jr answers the big questions around Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury finally facing each other...
Could we finally see Fury vs AJ this year?
Simply: Yes.
Before the Saudi takeover of boxing - spearheaded by Turki Alalshikh, would we have seen Fury vs Francis Ngannou, AJ vs Ngannou, Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker, Frank Warren and Eddie Hearn working together and shaking hands for photos?
Simply: No.
The rules, rankings, sanctioning bodies and broadcast and promotional disputes are all irrelevant when this much money is thrown at prize fighting.
How would it work?
It feels like the winner of Fury vs Usyk on May 18 will fight AJ as soon after as possible.
There is a rematch clause in the current deal for Britain’s WBC champ and Ukraine’s WBA, IBF and WBO king to meet and decide the first undisputed ruler for 25 years.
But it seems certain the belts will fragment afterwards - with a string of mandatory challengers due their crack at the four separate belts - so the clamour for AJ vs the winner might be bigger than the demand for a rerun for fewer belts.
Where would it happen?
It feels like every major fight is now going to happen in Saudi Arabia.
But don’t rule out a potential Fury vs Ngannou clash taking place at Wembley stadium.
It seems like the Saudis are keen to eventually host shows in the UK and that fight, at the home of football, would be some debut.
If Usyk topples the Gypsy King then the hype for him to face AJ for a third time will be far less intense.
Why this time?
It feels like we have twice come close to seeing the clash but there were simply too many hurdles and disputes in the way - similar to the way AJ vs Wilder still hasn’t happened.
But with Alalshikh now making Hearn’s Matchroom and Warren’s Queensberry play nice and letting Sky Sports, TNT and DAZN share the shows, there is far less to fight over in the boardroom and loads on to battle for in the ring.
And if Fury beats Usyk and rightfully demands a huge percentage of an overdue Joshua meeting, then the Saudi’s have the cash and the clout to hand him 99 per cent of the pie - to massage his ego and bank balance - and hand AJ as much extra dough as needed to keep everyone sweet.
Who wins?
If Fury sets up an AJ clash by beating Oleksandr Usyk - the mathematics and stats make it clear only a maniac would back Joshua to triumph in the all-English clash.
Usyk dominated AJ over two one-sided fights, on foreign soil.
The Watford man has enjoyed a spike in form and respect since linking up with new trainer Ben Davison but a 20st 6ft 9in Fury - who has just slayed the gap-toothed southpaw - would be almost invincible.
But in any major football derby or cup final the formbook is often aimed out of the window. And perhaps a rejuvenated hungry AJ could be too much for an undisputed and fulfilled Fury to handle.