Anthony Joshua rules out December return

Anthony Joshua will not return to the ring this year. The former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion has opted to take a longer break from the sport.

Joshua, 33, was expected to fight on December 17 despite the collapse of a proposed date with Tyson Fury earlier in the month.

But now it is understood that ‘AJ’ will take the rest of 2022 off. Joshua is regrouping after back-to-back defeats by Oleksandr Usyk.

He will continue to train at Finchley and District Amateur Boxing club where he started as a fighter. But plans for a fight this year have now been shelved. Joshua will use the time to recover but also consider his training team again.

In a related development, Joshua will be offered domestic dust-ups against Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois for his return to the ring next year.

The former two-time unified heavyweight world champion is looking for a new opponent after a shock December showdown with Tyson Fury fell through.

A number of veterans are in the mix to be AJ’s dance partner early next year, although Queensberry Promotions chief Frank Warren is hoping to secure the gold ticket for Joyce or Dubois.

He told Sky Sports: “Now I’m going to be able to start throwing Daniel Dubois at him and Joe [Joyce].”

Warren, however, doesn’t believe the Olympic gold medallist would accept fights with his surging heavyweights.

He said: “If he don’t fight one of them I think they’ll find it hard to sell anything and he can’t say, ‘Why should I do that?’.

“‘ll tell you why, he’ll become a mandatory.”