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Anthony Joshua has not ruled out a sensational move to MMA before he calls time on his career.
The former two-time heavyweight champion is scheduled to make a return to the boxing ring on July 25 against Kristian Prenga over in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. ‘AJ’ has not fought since his uninspiring sixth round knockout win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
Joshua is expected to come away from his meeting with Prenga without a scratch – which will then finally set up a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury. The ‘Gypsy King’ called out his British rival after his win Arslanbek Makhmudov back in April, but ‘AJ’ refused to step in the ring and go nose-to-nose with his bitter foe.
Just days later, though, they put pen-to-paper on a fight deal and will likely trade leather in November. With Joshua set to turn 37 in October, many are wondering how many more years he has got left in him. It seems as if he is interested in money-spinning opportunities, and has been welcomed a switch to the octagon.
“Believe me, I was thinking, why don’t I step over into one of their territories because they keep on coming to our territory?” Joshua said on the Mr Verzace podcast. “Obviously, this is big business. It’s big boxing, it’s heavyweight boxing. You are talking about the best in their chosen field. MMA, kickboxing. These aren’t amateurs, these are actually experienced fighters. It would be good if one of us went into that side and we see how we get on over there.”
Over the years, boxing fans have witnessed several crossover clashes. Joshua famously destroyed former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in the second round in the squared-circle two years ago. While Ngannou suffered a brutal loss to Joshua, he fared much better just months before against Fury. The Cameroonian lost via split decision, but dropped the Morecambe brawler in the third round.
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More recently, kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven suffered a controversial loss to Oleksandr Usyk. The Dutchman was stopped in the 11th, but the referee seemingly intervened after the bell. Verhoeven was even up on one of the judges’ scorecards prior to the ending.
A little further back, two former world champions in boxing made the move to the UFC. Holly Holm sensationally defeated Ronda Rousey to become the women’s champion. James Toney, though, suffered a rather harsh reality in the cage after he was submitted by Randy Couture in the first round back in 2010.
Nevertheless, it’s something Joshua is interested in. “So even if let’s say, Anthony Joshua—speaking in third person—was to cross over into MMA, it wouldn’t be as big as them coming over into boxing,” he continued. “Boxing is just the pinnacle of combat sport.”
“100 percent [I’d want a name opponent]. So that means it’s big business then. MMA, kickboxing, or boxing. It can be done, I believe it should be done. I think that will be the next thing that we want to see.”
The 36-year-old added: “So there’s been a case study where someone like James has crossed over in to. There has been actually, but I was thinking about it. Those guys keep on coming over into our territory. It will be interesting to see who the first one will be to cross over into their territory.”
