NEWS: HEARN LOOKS TO HAVE JOSHUA GET BACK ON TRACK, THEN FACE WILDER/FURY LATER THIS YEAR

In September of 2021, Joshua faced a then-underdog Oleksandr Usyk in London, losing a unanimous decision and his portion of the gold in the process. A rematch followed in August of this year, and Oleksandr repeated his success, handing Joshua the third defeat of his prize fighting career.

Now, for the first time since 2016, Joshua finds himself not directly involved in the title picture, and searching for some direction. Promoter Eddie Hearn, when speaking on The DAZN Boxing Show podcast, laid out a bit of that direction for the new year.

"[Joshua] wants to return with a top 15 guy. Then in the summer, probably against Dillian Whyte and then a megafight with Deontay Wilder," Hearn expressed.

Online, the calls have been for an immediate showdown with the hard-hitting Wilder. However, coming off the back of two losses and another switch in trainers looming, Hearn doesn't see the sense in rushing into such a contest. While Hearn isn't calling this a rebuild, he stressed that a confidence-booster is in order.

Still, while Hearn expresses there was a hope of making three fights for AJ this year, Wilder doesn't necessarily have to be the third encounter. They might jump into the encounter with the American right after their tune-up, tentatively scheduled for early April.

 Of course, the other name thrown about in terms of a Joshua encounter would be titlist Tyson Fury. And one way or another, Hearn feels as though either Fury or Wilder will face Joshua in 2023, stating, "... I truly believe Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury are nailed on for 2023. They have to be."

Considering his run of opponents throughout the majority of his career, a tune-up fight off the back of two losses seems about fair for Joshua. The questions will be in regards to how he looks and what trainer will prepare him for this attempt at a third world title reign.

According to most reports, he is still in search of both an opponent and a coach, and April is closer than most imagine. So, one should expect an announcement in those regards shortly if that deadline is to be kept.