Anthony Joshua has finally revealed the severity of his injury which could keep him out until the end of 2025.
AJ last fought in September 2024, attempting to become a three-time world champion at Wembley when he faced Daniel Dubois. The fight saw Dubois dominate Joshua and knock him out in the fifth round. There was a potential rematch for this fight, however the IBF set a deadline of April, which was unable to take place due to Joshua’s injury.
What Anthony Joshua Has Said About His Injury
It’s an elbow injury that is keeping AJ sidelined
In an interview with iFL TV, Joshua opened up on how serious the injury is, saying: “They’re obviously gonna go in – long story short, the bone in the joint is free at the minute. This is my left arm. It’s nice and free. But over a period of time, there’s a signal that gets sent to the brain, like, (This) keeps on jamming, what’s going on? We need to grow some more bone to protect this area. But ultimately, I needed to be free, because of my job.
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“But it’s like, my body is doing the right thing, getting stronger, to protect itself from this trauma that keeps happening. So, over a period of time, what they tend to do is, they go in, with a small little drill. A thin little drill – keyhole surgery – go into the elbow, and just file it down, nice and precise. It’s like a tooth, if you have a root canal, or whatever you call it, you know? File the tooth down, someone’s there with a suction, taking out all the bone that’s floating around, and then it’ll just heal, really.
“But you gotta make sure you do your rehab, do all your strength work, as well, because after surgery you need to focus on making sure you get the range of motion back. And then once it’s fully healed, you ice it, acupuncture, strengthen it. Good as new, back to work, basically.”
Anthony Joshua’s Next Fight
Names have been thrown around, but nothing has been confirmed
This surgery will keep Joshua out for a further eight weeks, before allowing him to return to the gym in preparation for another fight. Speaking to ESPN Mexico, the former world champion said that he wants to return to the ring in December. There have been multiple rumoured opponents for Joshua’s return fight, with Martin Bakole, Agit Kabayel, and Deontay Wilder all potentially lined up to face the Brit at the end of the year.
| Anthony Joshua’s professional boxing record (as of 10/05/25) | ||
|---|---|---|
| 32 fights | 28 wins | 4 losses |
| By knockout | 25 | 2 |
| By decision | 3 | 2 |
The 35-year-old has also been called out by Jake Paul, with the Problem Child set to fight Julio Cesar Chavez Jr in June after defeating Mike Tyson in an exhibition match in his last fight. Joshua could also finally have the long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury. However, these options both seem unlikely to happen this year.
