Will both former world heavyweight champions from the UK, Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua return to the ring this year or next year? We’re all currently reading what Fury has said, that he will come back to fight Oleksandr Usyk a third time in 2026; with Turki Alalshikh putting it out there that Fury is on a “rabbit hunt,” this seen as disrespectful to Usyk in the opinion of a good many people. Usyk has, after all, beaten Fury twice and he has nothing to prove as far as this rivalry goes.

And Joshua has said that he will “take the heavyweight division by storm” when he returns from injury, this after undergoing elbow surgery and having had a significant layoff. As far as Fury and Joshua actually fighting each other goes, fans still want to see this fight and they have not quite yet given up hope. While Fury, who we all know does a lot of talking, has now said “show me the money” for a Joshua fight. But it’s a third fight with Usyk that Fury has said he is really interested in.

Fury, like the rest of us, will have to wait and see what happens when Usyk fights Daniel Dubois in their rematch later this month. And even if Usyk does win that fight (and he is the favourite to do so, with good reason as special as he is), would he want to fight Fury a third time? Why should he, you could ask.

Joshua’s Comeback: “I’ll Take the Division by Storm”

As for AJ, he says he will come back and fight the “biggest fights,” whether that includes one with Fury or not.

“Fighting is what I do, it’s my life,” AJ said as quoted by The Ring. “What I did was take a year out for the first time in my career, that’s 12-13 years as a professional. I took a year out to get my body right. I haven’t got lots of years in front of me so I’ve got to make an executive decision on what I do next. So the minute I come back you know I’m coming back with a bang……..I took my time out to ensure I come back fully active, fully ready to go and take the division by storm. I’ll take whatever fights are needed, every fight is a big fight.”

It has been 10 months since Joshua was smashed to defeat in five rounds by Dubois, and it could prove both interesting and exciting seeing if the former two-time heavyweight champ can actually come back with a bang.

Who knows what kind of heavyweight match-ups we could see this year and next year if Fury and Joshua do both come back: Usyk-Fury III, Fury-Joshua, Joshua-Deontay Wilder, Dubois-Joshua II, Dubois-Fury, maybe even Usyk-Joshua III