LONDON — Anthony Joshua’s surprise ring return before the end of the year has now been rated at 50-50 by his promoter Eddie Hearn, who says the two-time world heavyweight champion is available to fight on two weeks’ notice.

Joshua has not boxed since his crushing knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September last year and, with more than a 12 months of inactivity, he recently dropped out of The Ring’s heavyweight rankings.

His team had been locked in discussions regarding a fight with Jake Paul this year but when the Youtuber-turned-boxer agreed a deal with Gervonta Davis instead it seemed as if AJ would sit out the remainder of 2025.

But Hearn has recently floated the idea of Joshua appearing on an undercard somewhere as part of his preparation for a big fight in the first quarter of 2026. Now the promoter has revealed that the 36-year-old could still feasibly land on Matchroom’s December 13 show in Stockton, California or even on The Ring’s December 27 ‘Night of the Samurai’ card headlined by Naoya Inoue.

Hearn told The Ring: “I think it’s probably 50-50 that he will fight again this year.

“Sometimes I mention these things and it goes crazy but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense from a boxing point of view. Not so much a money or commercial point of view.

“But every time Joshua fights it’s a massive occasion, out in a big stadium somewhere, and he’s like ‘ok, here I go again’. But if he goes on an undercard somewhere, it gives him a chance to get in the flow again and it would be very beneficial to his career.

“All we’re trying to do is get ourselves geared up for probably the last roll of the dice in his career and he’s got to be ready. Now it is just about figuring out the logistics.

“He originally asked me if he could just go and box on one of our Mexico shows or something. I said ‘mate, I can’t really hide you walking around Tijuana’. But we’ve got December 13 in California, maybe there’s a show in November. I don’t think it makes sense with what we’re trying to do to put him out in Ghana. But then there is also the show in Riyadh on December 27.

“It might not even be something we announce weeks and weeks before because that defeats the object. He is in the gym and he is staying ready so we could say ‘you’re out in two weeks in an eight-rounder”.

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) remains arguably the biggest star in British boxing and has not boxed in a fight over fewer than 12 rounds for 10 years. He has also grown accustomed to being the main event, with every fight over that period, except for his stoppage of Otto Wallin in December 2023, receiving top billing.

But Hearn is adamant that getting Joshua back beneath the lights and back to winning ways away from the full glare of the spotlight will stand him in good stead for 2026. There is still hope that Tyson Fury could end his most recent spell of retirement in order to finally fight Joshua next year while the puncher of Nigerian descent has also been tagged for a fight in Ghana in February.

Before any of that, though, Hearn believes an exercise in shaking off the rust is in order and says the opponent will be a reflection of that objective.

Hearn said: “People have said to me ‘oh, what sort of opponent are you thinking?’

“Just go on Boxrec, look at the heavyweight top 100, look outside the top 20, and Joshua’s opponent will be in there.”