Anthony Joshua handed brutal Hall of Fame snub ahead of return

The heavyweight star – who has not fought in over a year – is expected to make his highly-anticipated return to the ring within the next few months

Anthony Joshua has enjoyed many memorable nights in the ring, but it is still not enough to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame.

That is according to former super-middleweight champion George Groves. Joshua has not fought since suffering a brutal knockout defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024. The 36-year-old has been sidelined for the majority of 2025, and recently had surgery on his elbow, but is expected to return to the ring in the coming months.

The two-time heavyweight champion is expected to have a tune up fight first before chasing a high profile fight next summer. Tyson Fury is at the top of the Brit’s list, but the ‘Gypsy King’ recently handed ‘AJ’ a blow after insisting that not even a £1billion pay day would lure him back into the ring.

Joshua first became a champion back in 2016 when he brutally knocked out Charles Martin, but perhaps his most iconic night in the ring came against Wladimir Klitschko a year later – when he stopped the heavyweight legend in the eleventh round. He has since picked up wins over the likes of Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Andy Ruiz Jr and Otto Wallin. But that is still not enough to be placed in the Hall of Fame.

Speaking to BetVictor, Groves brutally ripped into Joshua’s legendary status, but insists a win over Fury or Oleksandr Usyk would be enough to earn him a spot in boxing’s elite. “No, he didn’t beat anyone to get into the Hall of Fame. If he’d beat Fury, or Wilder, or Usyk, maybe, but the fact that you sell a lot of tickets shouldn’t deserve you to get into the Hall of Fame. Fury probably will, he’ll get in the Hall of Fame with his wins,” he said.

With Joshua expected to return within the next few months, promoter Eddie Hearn admits his star client could be added to an undercard before Christmas. “We will make a decision this week on his next fight,” said Hearn. “If he fights this year you probably won’t hear about it, we would literally rock up on fight week. We’ve already got opponents we’ve been talking to about a run-out fight but the whole point is to chill out, turn up on the Thursday, weigh in and go and fight.

“I think it would be so good for him but bizarre at the same time, because there’s no money in the fight. We’re not going to start using him to sell tickets. Literally he will just pop up on a show. I’d love him to go in there and just smash someone up.”

Hearn has once again played down talk of Joshua taking on Jake Paul. The YouTuber-turned-boxer was due to take on lightweight star Gervonta Davis this Friday, but the exhibition dust-up was cancelled last week after Davis was accused of assault and kidnapping by his ex-girlfriend.

Paul has made offers to several potential replacement opponents for a date in December, but Hearn is adamant that Joshua is not one of those fighters. “We’ve had discussions, but no offer,” he said. “If we were to have a run-out, a run-out against Jake Paul would be nice, but I don’t think he’s mad enough.”

When is the next boxing fight?

Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn will go head-to-head this weekend. The 12-round middleweight rematch is scheduled to take place on Saturday, November 15. It will once again be held at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London. Official times are yet to be confirmed – but it is likely that the undercard will begin at around 5pm UK time.

In the main event, the ringwalks will likely take place at around 9:50pm UK time. The fight will be shown live and exclusively on DAZN pay-per-view.