‘He just can’t punch’ – Eddie Hearn opens up on Anthony Joshua injury and names three alternate opponents for next fight

EDDIE HEARN has opened up on the injury that is keeping Anthony Joshua out of the ring – as three new opponents for his next fight emerged.

AJ is yet to return since his knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September and a secret setback looks to have shelved a summer comeback.

Hearn told SunSport: “It's the same injury that he had before, which I'm not gonna go into.

“It's nothing major, but the problem is with these big guys you're kind of getting through a niggle, and that's really what it is.

“It's not something that requires an operation but he went back into training camp and just can't punch.

“Like he needs to punch and if you watch how these boys throw – it's not like you or me just going out and hitting a few pads – it's like it's heavy duty.

“And he needs about another six weeks from now till he can punch properly.”

Joshua was looking towards a two-fight deal with Tyson Fury this year, stretched across Saudi Arabia and London.

But Fury announced a shock retirement in January just a month after his second loss in a row to Oleksandr Usyk.

And while the Gypsy King appears happy for the gloves to stay hung up – Hearn is still holding out for the phone call of his career.

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He said: “In an ideal world, Tyson Fury gets off the sofa and goes, I”m bored. I wanna roll the dice with AJ.'

“And that phone call would be the most beautiful phone call I've had in my career, and it may come, but if it doesn't, we've gotta find an opponent.

“And, he's gotta be 100 per cent physically right because this is arguably the most important decision and moment of his career because it's the final ones.”

With Fury not budging on retirement, Hearn's second port of call would be a rematch with Dubois.

But the IBF champion wants to also rematch Usyk – who beat him in 2023 following a controversial low-blow which the Londoner argued was legal.

It leaves Agit Kabayel and Joseph Parker – who hold the WBC and WBO interim belts respectively – as other options.

And long-time American rival Deontay Wilder – once heavyweight champ himself – makes up a third alternative to fight AJ.

Hearn said: “We're in no tearing rush. The next move is so important for the last chapter, because that's what it is.

“We just gotta get it right and if we can't get Dubois or if we can't get Fury then we've gotta fight someone else.

“And that could be Parker. That could be Kabayel, that could be, I don't know, Wilder, anyone.”