Joshua – who hasn’t been seen since losing to Daniel Dubois last September – has been handed a fresh WBO ranking ahead of his potential return to the ring later this year
Anthony Joshua has climbed to seventh in the latest heavyweight rankings, but has four fellow Brits ahead of him.
The two-time heavyweight world champion suffered a brutal knockout by Daniel Dubois in his last bout at Wembley Stadium in September. It seemed an immediate rematch was on the cards, but after sustaining minor injuries in their first clash, ‘AJ’ wasn’t prepared for a quick return to the ring.
Just a few months later, Joshua’s long-standing adversary Tyson Fury was defeated for a second time by Oleksandr Usyk. Following this defeat, the ‘Gypsy King’ fell two places to No. 3 in the WBO’s December rankings. At the time of these official rankings, Joshua was in eighth place.
However, just four months later, the Brit finds himself with a new ranking. The 35-year-old is still recognised by the WBO and now sits in seventh place. Fury is no longer ranked by the organisation following his retirement from boxing in January.
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British boxing veteran Derek Chisora is one spot below Joshua, while ‘The Romford Bull’ Johnny Fisher is ranked 12th ahead of his rematch with rival Dave Allen in London next month. Following the updated rankings, two British stars are moving up the ranks.
Moses Itauma and Fabio Wardley, both rising stars in the boxing world, are making waves as they head into the latter part of 2025. Itauma, who celebrated his 20th birthday in December, currently boasts an impressive professional record of 11-0. He’s set to face former NFL linebacker Mike Balogun next month on the undercard of the Josh Taylor vs Ekow Essuman fight.
Just a fortnight after this showdown, Wardley is set to take on Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller in what promises to be the toughest test of his career, with the fight taking place in front of his home crowd in Ipswich. Currently, Itauma sits in second place, with Wardley just behind him in third. The reigning heavyweight champion, Usyk, holds the WBO title, with Joseph Parker as the mandatory challenger and interim champion.
As for Joshua’s future, his long-time promoter Eddie Hearn remains hopeful that Fury would consider coming out of retirement for a showdown with ‘AJ’. Speaking to Boxing News, Hearn said: “It wasn’t emotional watching him. The thing is with Tyson is, he’s not in decline. When you retire and you’re kind of past your best, I kind of get it, but he’s not. And that’s what gives me hope that one day he just picks up the phone to AJ or to Frank or Spencer and says, ‘Let’s do it. Let’s give the world the biggest fight out there.’ We can only hope.”
