Anthony Joshua could become a world champion again this year as Oleksandr Usyk, the undisputed heavyweight king, is on the verge of being stripped of one of his titles. Usyk recently secured his undisputed status with a dramatic victory over Tyson Fury in Riyadh.

Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, stated that Joshua could compete for a world title as early as September, following Usyk’s potential loss of the IBF belt. Usyk, after a grueling nine-month training camp, plans to take a break, which could lead to him being stripped of the title for not defending it against mandatory challenger Filip Hrgovic. Hrgovic is set to fight Daniel Dubois in Riyadh on June 1.

Hearn believes the IBF title might not be stripped from Usyk in time for it to be contested in the Hrgovic vs. Dubois match. However, should the title become vacant, Joshua is expected to face the winner of that bout, potentially in a September fight at Wembley.

Hearn also mentioned that Joshua is ready to step in if the Fury vs. Usyk rematch does not happen in October. “He can step in and fight anyone,” Hearn told Boxing News. “But if the rematch goes ahead, it’s likely AJ will fight the winner of Hrgovic-Dubois. We’ll see what happens; anything is possible.”

Frank Warren, Fury’s promoter, is confident that the rematch with Usyk will take place and expects it to be even better than the first fight. “Both fighters know each other now and will use what they learned to their advantage,” Warren stated.

As the situation unfolds, Joshua remains poised to seize any opportunity to reclaim a world title, while the boxing community eagerly awaits the next moves of Usyk and Fury.