There is still plenty of clamour to see Anthony Joshua versus Tyson Fury.

This all-British heavyweight contest has been talked about for several years given both men are huge stars of the sport who have accomplished plenty.

Fury was the long-reining WBC heavyweight champion until coming up against the might of Oleksandr Usyk in May. That historic undisputed contest saw ‘The Gypsy King’ take his first ever loss after a close contest which was decided by him being given a 10 count in the ninth round. Although he rallied, it wasn’t enough to swing the cards in his favour.

Usyk has of course also beaten Joshua, the first time in 2021 to relieve him of his IBF, WBA and WBO world titles and then again in a rematch the following year which saw him successfully defend his unified status.

Since then Joshua has recaptured some of the impressive knockout form of his early career with a trio of stoppage victories against Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.

As such plenty of fans still hope to see the two Brits coming together in the ring at some point before retirement. Ahead of that, multi-weight great Roy Jones Jr has been speaking to Betway and making his prediction for what might happen. Despite ‘AJ’s run of early finishes, he can’t see it happening against Fury.

Next up for Fury is a rematch with Usyk on December 21 while it is expected that Joshua will return in September this year with an opponent yet to be announced but Daniel Dubois or Zhilei Zhang likely.

Anthony Joshua is reportedly on the cusp of announcing his next fight.

‘AJ’ has very much got himself back into the upper echelons of the heavyweight division after a couple of difficult years. He managed to rebuild well after the first loss of his career against Andy Ruiz Jr, starting with a successful 12-round shutout in the rematch.

After that, he defended his unified world champion status with a victory over Kubrat Pulev,

Then however he stepped into the ring with the now undisputed four-belt champion Oleksandr Usyk who, over the course of two back-to-back 12-round fights, handed Joshua two more defeats.

Since then Joshua has got back to his explosive best and won four fights on the bounce, three of them by stoppage against Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.

Many people hope he one day fights Tyson Fury, despite ‘The Gypsy King’ also having recently lost to Usyk

Speaking to Jonathon Ross in a clip captured by Now That’s Entertainment23, Joshua spoke about harnessing all the insults Fury has sent his way over the years.

Fury is currently back in the gym ahead of his rematch with Usyk on December 21, while Joshua is expected to fight this summer against Daniel Dubois with the IBF world title potentially on the line.

Plenty of fighters are keen to challenge themselves against a rejuvenated Anthony Joshua.

For many years, Joshua was the big-money ticket for world

heavyweight challengers. A fight with him brought them a huge payday as well as the chance to relieve him of his championship belts.

However back to back losses to the superb and now undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk rather damaged AJ’s reputation and left him out in the cold, with some people even calling for his retirement.

Ignoring those calls, Joshua has settled in with a new coach in Ben Davison and has put together a string of solid knockout victories as he goes on the hunt to become a three-time world heavyweight champion which is a rare feat that only greats such as Muhammad Ali have accomplished in the past.

Right now, Chinese heavyweight Zhilei Zhang is one of the favourites to face Joshua next, but once said in a video for CGTN Europe that ‘AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn would never risk it.

Zhang is coming off the back of an impressive stoppage victory over once fearsome American puncher Deontay Wilder, but before that was handed a 12-round points loss by Joseph Parker despite having the New Zealander down twice.

A fight between him and Joshua would not doubt please fans, but it is belts that Joshua is most interested in right now and IBF interim champion Daniel Dubois remains the favourite to face AJ in a much excepted September card at Wembley stadium in London.

ANTHONY JOSHUA has suffered a blow in his hopes to challenge for the world title with his next fight yet to be sanctioned for the belt.

AJ is due to be back in front of the 90,000-seat Wembley Stadium in September following three wins in Saudi Arabia.

And British rival Daniel Dubois is the leading name to welcome Joshua back to UK shores.

Dubois recently stunned Filip Hrgovic to win the IBF interim title – granting him the next shot at Oleksandr Usyk’s full version.

But with Usyk due to rematch Tyson Fury – following his historic win in May – he is not able to face No1 contender Dubois.

So there was hope the IBF would strip the Ukrainian undisputed champion to allow AJ and Dubois to challenge for the vacant strap.

But the IBF told Sky Sports there has been NO request to sanction the all-Brit bout for the belt.

Usyk, 37, became the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed champ following victory over Fury, 35.

And now the two are set to rematch back in Saudi on December 21.

Meanwhile Joshua, 34, is closing in on his first bout back at Wembley since 2018 with Dubois, 26, the frontrunner to face him.

AJ recently posted on social media: “Nearly finished my negotiations for my next fight! Feeling motivated.”

Joshua has twice sold out Wembley for his world title wins over Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin

He also beat Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker at the 75,000-seat Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

His most recent bouts in the UK were at the O2, with wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius that came after double defeat to Usyk.

Deontay Wilder was in the mix to fight AJ but twice fluffed his lines following defeats to Parker, 32, and Zhilei Zhang, 41.

So after Dubois’ win over Hrgovic, 32, he leads the line to fight Joshua.

Don Charles has told Anthony Joshua to ‘grow a pair and step up’ to face Daniel Dubois next.

Joshua sat in the front row when Dubois beat Filip Hrgovic and became the ‘interim’ IBF heavyweight world champion last weekend in Saudi Arabia.

Dubois may soon be upgraded to the full IBF heavyweight world champion if Oleksandr Usyk’s request for an exception to rematch Tyson Fury on December 21 is denied.

Joshua is expected to headline a massive card at Wembley Stadium on September 21, and talks are currently ongoing about ‘DDD’ being his opponent.

“It’s very unclear at the moment,” Charles told talkSPORT.

“Daniel being the [IBF] mandatory now in that position. AJ wants to become a three-time world champion. What better time for him [to face Dubois], they shouldn’t even consider the other options.”

As one of the biggest stars in boxing, Joshua is not short of willing opponents, but Charles insists nationality and the potential of a world title being on the line make his boxer the ideal option.

He added: “AJ has beaten Joseph Parker. Zhilei Zhang doesn’t bring anything to the audience, in terms of this is a British fight between two British fighters.

“It’s a no-brainer to make this happen. This is going out to AJ and Eddie Hearn. It’s not complicated. Do not deny the British public what will be a massive, massive fight for Britain.

“Wembley, come on, it’s got to be two British fighters.

“Come on AJ. Come on Eddie. Stop playing silly buggers. Get on with it. The most obvious thing to do is bring that fight to Wembley for the British audience. They deserve it.

“If you want to become a three-time world champion, this is a great opportunity. Usyk has beaten you twice, Fury has lost, [Deontay] Wilder is out of the picture.”

Charles signed off his message to Joshua and his long-time promoter by imploring them to ‘grow a pair’ and sign to fight Dubois later this year.

“Don’t kid us and cheat the British public,” he said.

“Hopefully, the IBF will do the right thing and make the title vacant for AJ to contest my guy, Daniel Dubois.

“We haven’t got any God-given right that we are going to beat him, nor has he.

Daniel Dubois was given a bruising examination by Oleksandr Usyk last year but has fought back and now has a real chance to stop Anthony Joshua but there are still problems to overcome

Daniel Dubois did not look destined for heavyweight glory when counted out in the ninth round against Oleksandr Usyk in Poland last year.

Ten months and two wins later he is once more looking to etch his name amongst the elite. As we know Dubois has the power to trouble any, but now he is adding experience to the mix.

The truth is there aren’t many super stars in the heavyweight division in terms of pure talent, that’s why Oleksandr Usyk is at the top of the pile.

Usyk is clearly very special, but in this era he is really a blown-up cruiserweight. He acknowledged this himself by expressing a desire to return to the division after the Tyson Fury rematch.

Take Usyk out of the equation and anyone can beat anyone, it seems to me. Filip Hrgovic was winning the fight in Saudi Arabia last week until he got cut.

But Dubois took his shots well and never looked hurt. He beat the guy without being spectacular, which showed a certain degree of improvement.

Boxing is more than brute force. It’s a chess game played with fists. Dubois always had a tendency to be too eager. He throws bombs like he’s on a mission. Effective against lesser opponents, but against the top guys that can be a recipe for disaster.

We saw this against Joe Joyce, a fight Dubois was expected to win. He went in all guns blazing, leaving himself wide open to Joyce’s relentless forward movement. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and it served as a stark reminder that Dubois needed to refine his approach.

Though he was stopped against Usyk he will have learned something, and that helped in the Hrgovic fight. He took some blows but was never downhearted and worked out a way to win.

Now he is in line for a shot at Anthony Joshua. And if he gets through to Joshua’s chin then its game on. Joshua is the more complete fighter, marginally quicker. And he has rebuilt impressively since he lost for the second time to Usyk.

There is, however, still a chink in his armour first exposed by Andy Ruiz that makes him vulnerable to the kind of power packed by Dubois.

Should the IBF strip Usyk for not making a mandatory defence, the proposed September date between the two becomes far more significant with the vacant IBF belt be on the line.

Most would still take Joshua to win. But nothing is a given if Dubois can back up his Hrgovic victory with another mature performance.

Anthony Joshua isn’t at the tail end of his career yet, but he’s certainly at a point where he must be meticulous and make the proper decisions in order to maximize what he has left in the tank.

The 34-year-old has bounced back from back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk with four straight victories, the last three of which have been simply dominant. That has put Joshua in a great spot for a big fight or world title shot.