Will Anthony Joshua ever be heavyweight champion again?

“Do I want to get myself to the championship? I would love to. Am I going to be smart in how I get there? Yeah. Do I know a lot more about boxing than I used to? 

“A hundred percent. Am I still trying to improve as a boxer? Yeah. ‘How come he doesn’t fight with the same passion that he used to?’ Because I’m a better boxer than I was then.”

Those were the words of Anthony Joshua in a documentary aired with popular interviewer Louis Theroux back in November. In it, the now 34-year-old discussed everything from his upbringing to his glittering boxing career and what is next for the man affectionately known as ‘AJ.’

Joshua famously lost his heavyweight belts to Oleksandr Usyk in his second career defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in September 2021, and while he gave a better account of himself in the Saudi Arabian rematch almost 12 months later, he failed to regain his titles from the Ukrainian. 

It was clear how much of an adverse effect that had on Joshua. A usually cool, calm, and collected persona, he lost his temper and threw the belts out of the ring before going on a surreal tangent on the microphone — talking about his passion and questioning how Usyk had beat him.  

In hindsight, Joshua admitted that his actions were wrong in his interview with Theroux. We saw a different AJ in that documentary, one desperate to rediscover his love for the game and hungry to regain the title as heavyweight champion. 

Well, almost two years on from his second defeat to Usyk, Joshua has the chance to at least regain his IBF world heavyweight title — one of the multitude of belts that he regretfully chucked over the top rope 24 months ago.  

He takes on fellow Londoner Daniel Dubois in a mouth-watering all-British blockbuster at Wembley Stadium on September 21, and it could be a case of now or never for Joshua as an opportunity like this might not come around again after his previous setbacks. 

Interestingly, AJ is the overwhelming favourite to beat interim belt holder Dubois in the betting market, with Anthony Joshua to win by KO proving to be a popular market at odds of 2/5. 

However, this matchup is unlikely to be as easy for Joshua as the bookies are making it out to be. Indeed, he has rebuilt his reputation, and perhaps more importantly, confidence with victories over Jermaine Franklin, Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou, but Dubois is arguably a tougher opponent than any of those. 

Dubois’ bout with Usyk 12 months ago was arguably the only time he has faced one of the top heavyweights thus far in his career, and while that fight ended in a ninth-round KO defeat, the 26-year-old’s ability and raw power were on full display as he visibly hurt the Ukrainian with a body punch that could have ended the fight if it wasn’t controversially deemed a low blow by the referee. 

That immense power, matched with his youthful energy and power, alongside a game plan that focuses on Joshua’s vulnerabilities, which Usyk and Andy Ruiz Jr. have exposed in the past, could give Dubois an unexpected edge and see him shock the boxing betting markets. 

Ultimately, the question of whether AJ will ever be a heavyweight champion again will be answered on September 21. Many questioned whether he would ever even get another shot at a belt, so now that the opportunity has presented itself, Joshua has to take it, or it’s good riddance.