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Anthony Joshua could face unbeaten German fighter Agit Kabayel on December 23, his promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed – after ruling out a showdown between the British star and Deontay Wilder.
Joshua is looking for his next opponent as he continues his road to recovery following crushing back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk, with AJ getting back to winning ways against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius this year.
But despite fans demanding a mouth-watering clash between Joshua and former WBC world champion Deontay Wilder, talks for that fight are now on the rocks. It was set to be staged in Saudi Arabia before changes in the country’s boxing management left it in doubt.
Hearn had been discussing possible opponents after giving up hope on the Wilder fight coming to fruition this year, saying Kabayel – who has won all 23 of his pro bouts – was a contender. He also suggested unbeaten Croatian star Filip Hrgovic and Swedish fighter Otto Wallin.
However, he dismissed suggestions that WBA ‘regular’ champion Mahmoud Charr could step in and fight AJ.
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“[Charr] is looking for an opponent. He’s got the WBA regular title, which we certainly wouldn’t be saying Joshua is a three-time heavyweight champion [if he won that belt]. Definitely not,” he told SecondsOut.
Kabayel’s most famous win came when he shocked Dereck Chisora by beating the British star by unanimous decision in 2017.
Hearn said anyone who wanted to see Joshua fight Wilder, Zhilei Zhang – fresh off his second victory over Joe Joyce – or old opponent Andy Ruiz would be disappointed as he revealed how his star boxer was insistent that he fight three times in 2023.
“It’s not going to be Deontay Wilder, it’s not going to be Andy Ruiz, and it probably won’t be Zhang, so you have to look at that top-15,” he added
