‘Back to the grind in a few days’ – Anthony Joshua shows off results of elbow surgery as boxing star closes in on return

ANTHONY JOSHUA has shown off the results of his elbow surgery as he plots his return to the ring.

AJ went under the knife two weeks ago to fix the arm injury that has kept him out of action.

And Joshua has given a small glimpse into his recovery as he shadowboxed on social media.

Posting to his Snapchat account, he posted: “2 weeks post operation. Back to the grind in a few days.”

Joshua, 35, was knocked out by Daniel Dubois, 27, at Wembley and looked to be targeting an immediate rematch.

But that failed to materialise with Dubois now rematching Oleksandr Usyk on July 19 in London – two years after losing to the Ukrainian.

Tyson Fury, 36, was last year beaten by Usyk, 36, twice and subsequently announced his retirement in January a month after losing the rematch.

But AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn is hoping the unpredictable Gypsy King will make a U-turn and return to fight Joshua.

Talks are ongoing with Saudi boxing boss Turki Alalshikh over a new two-fight deal.

And Hearn told BoxingScene in late May: “He’s had the operation, which went very well, and now he’s just sort of rehabbing it.

“I believe about six weeks till he can punch again properly, and that kind of lends itself to a September, October, November fight.

“That gives us a chance to see what happens with Dubois against Usyk.

“That gives us a chance to see if Mr. Fury will ever return, and maybe something else.

“But he’s definitely fighting this year and looking forward to it.”

Former two-time heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua is closing in on a two-fight comeback deal, with talks ongoing for a potential return later this year.

Joshua, 35, has been sidelined since suffering a knockout defeat to Dubois at Wembley last September. A subsequent elbow injury forced him into surgery in May, delaying his return to the ring.

Anthony Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that discussions are underway with Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh over a deal tied to the Riyadh Season series of major boxing events.

“We are actually discussing a two-fight deal with Riyadh Season,” Hearn told BoxingScene. “We want to box sometime this year, October, November, and December.”

While fans had hoped for blockbuster showdowns with either Dubois or Fury, those matchups appear off the table for now.

Dubois is set to face Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch on July 19 at Wembley, while Fury announced a shock retirement in January after back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2024.

Hearn hinted that future matchups remain a possibility:

“We’ll see what happens with Dubois-Usyk; we’ll see what happens with Fury. If we don’t fight those guys, we’ll fight, and maybe follow one of those guys next year.”

Two names emerging as potential opponents for Joshua’s return are Dillian Whyte and rising American Jared Anderson.

Joshua previously defeated Whyte via knockout in 2015. A rematch was scheduled for August 2023, but Whyte was pulled after testing positive in a pre-fight drug test, later blamed on a tainted supplement.

He has since returned to action with wins in Ireland and Gibraltar and is due back in the ring this weekend on Fabio Wardley’s undercard in Ipswich, though his opponent remains unknown.

Oleksandr Usyk-Anthony Joshua 2 results, highlights: Usyk outpoints AJ to extend championship reign

Anthony Joshua seemed to sense he needed to do something dramatic when the ninth round of his bout for the unified heavyweight titles with Oleksandr Usyk began in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia on Saturday.

And Joshua came out and was blistering Usyk, ripping him with body shots that were savage with their intent. He blasted Usyk with straight right hands and a left hook that had dropped so many opponents before him.

When the 10th round began, Usyk fired off a four-punch combination to start it and was every bit as dominant in the 10th as Joshua had been been in the ninth.

The difference was that Usyk continued that dominance over the 11th and 12th, as well. And when the scorecards were read, Usyk had won a split decision to win the heavily hyped rematch and retain his IBF, WBA and WBO heavyweight belts.

Judge Glenn Feldman inexplicably scored the bout 115-113 for Joshua. But judge Victor Fesechko had it 116-112 and Steve Gray had it 115-113 for Usyk. Yahoo Sports had Usyk, 116-112.

“What a performance by Okeksandr Usyk,” Joshua promoter Eddie Hearn said. “That 10th round was one of the best I’ve seen. It turned the fight around. What he did in the 10th, 11th and 12th was incredible. That was the difference.”

Joshua lost his titles to Usyk in Tottenham, England, in September, leading to Saturday’s rematch. Joshua made a series of changes, including bringing in Robert Garcia to train him.

Joshua was unquestionably better, but Usyk was remarkable. He threw a whopping 712 punches and his head and upper body movement not only helped him slip so many shots from Joshua, but it left him in position to crack Joshua with counter punches.