Johnny Nelson fears that Anthony Joshua might not make it all the way through his comeback fight, warning that the British star’s “appetite” might have gone.
Joshua’s next move is still unclear, 14 months after the former world heavyweight champion was stopped by Daniel Dubois. However, the 36-year-old’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has teased that Joshua could box on a Matchroom undercard before the end of the year.
That alone stands out to Nelson, a retired world cruiserweight champion, who told Sky Sports: “You want to walk away from the game before the game walks away from you. I think now this is just business for AJ.
“As a young fighter coming through, you’re chomping at the bit to get in the ring to fight. AJ’s been out of the ring too long to tell me the appetite that’s needed is still there.
“I gave an example of Nigel Benn and Steve Collins. Who would ever have expected Nigel Benn to quit midway through a fight?” continued Nelson, 58, referencing Benn’s sixth-round retirement in his second loss to Collins in 1996.
“That means: when the fire’s gone in your belly, you can kid yourself and con yourself, but when the fight is on you… you think, ‘Na, I don’t want this enough.’ I think AJ’s there.
“So, if he’s gonna fight, he’s gonna box on an undercard – a guy that used to believe he was the best fighter in the world. That’s a hard thing to accept and a hard thing for others to understand if you were never the best in the world.”
Joshua’s defeat by Dubois, 28, saw his professional record fall to 28-4, with two of his losses coming via stoppage. Previously, the Briton suffered a shock TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, while he was outpointed by Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022.
Joshua remains linked to a dream fight against compatriot Tyson Fury, who announced his retirement in January but has flirted with a return to boxing. However, it is expected that Joshua – even if he were to box Fury, 37 – would face another opponent first.
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That said, there are few opportunities left this year. Among Matchroom’s notable remaining events in 2026 are Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn 2 on 15 November, a Japanese showcase in Saudi Arabia in December, and a Ghana event in December – which has been touted as a test run for a possible AJ fight in Africa next year.