Former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is plotting a major comeback, with a proposed two-fight deal being negotiated as part of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season boxing events. The news was confirmed by Joshua’s long-time promoter Eddie Hearn, who revealed that talks with Saudi sports chief Turki Alalshikh are already underway.
Speaking to BoxingScene, Hearn stated, “We are actually discussing a two-fight deal with Riyadh Season. That’s the plan really. We want to box sometime this year—October, November, or December.”
The development follows a tense face-off between Joshua and former WBA ‘regular’ champion Mahmoud Charr, who confronted the British star in Dubai. Charr, 40, boldly declared, “There’s only one giant in Syria,” as he looked to position himself as a potential opponent in Joshua’s return.
Charr (34–5), formerly known as Manuel Charr, is hoping to re-enter the top tier of heavyweight boxing despite a prolonged absence from the ring. He last fought in December, losing to Kubrat Pulev, and has since been campaigning for another high-profile bout.
Charr’s life and career have been marked by adversity. In 2015, he survived a drive-by shooting at a kebab shop in Germany following an online altercation with a social media troll. The shooter was later sentenced to five years in prison. Remarkably, Charr returned to the ring just nine months later after undergoing multiple hip surgeries—including a double hip replacement in 2017.
Joshua, 34, has been out of action since suffering a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois in September, a result that dramatically reshaped the heavyweight division. He subsequently underwent elbow surgery in May and is now aiming to return by December.
As the heavyweight picture evolves, Joshua’s team is monitoring other key developments, including the highly anticipated Usyk-Dubois rematch scheduled for July 19 at Wembley Stadium.
“We’ll see what happens with Dubois-Usyk. We’ll see what happens with Fury,” Hearn added. “If we don’t fight those guys, maybe we’ll fight one of them next year.”
Joshua remains a major figure in global boxing and is still eyeing potential mega-fights, including a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury, despite the Gypsy King’s surprise retirement in January following two consecutive losses to Oleksandr Usyk.
