Anthony Joshua axed from world rankings in brutal blow ahead of comeback

Anthony Joshua’s world title aspirations have taken a hit following a 12-month hiatus from the ring.

AJ hasn’t stepped between the ropes since last September when he suffered a devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.

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Surgery on a lingering elbow injury has delayed his return to the ring, but the Watford powerhouse is now back in training as he looks to mount a comeback.

Despite this, inactivity has caused him to drop out of the IBF heavyweight rankings.

AJ previously occupied the No.5 spot on the list, but that position is now held by his compatriot Moses Itauma, who has been boosted up one place in the latest ratings.

The rest of the top five is made up by Derek Chisora, Efe Ajagba and Frank Sanchez, while the No.1 spot remains vacant.

Either Ajagba or Sanchez are expected to fill the gap when they square off in an IBF final eliminator later this year.

The victor will be the new IBF mandatory, putting them in line to face reigning undisputed heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk.

Joshua, on the other hand, is a long way off challenging the upper echelons of the division again.

When is Anthony Joshua’s next fight?

According to his promoter, Eddie Hearn, the 35-year-old will face a ‘carefully’ selected opponent in January or early February before one last ‘roll of the dice’ next summer.

“We’ve got to choose carefully for the next fight, and I think the best way in all of this is just to be honest and say the next fight will be a comeback fight to build into a roll of the dice next summer,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

“We need a top-15 guy [next]. It’s not going to be Fury, Usyk, Dubois, all of those top guys.

Latest IBF top 15 heavyweight rankings

Champion: Oleksandr Usyk

1 Not Rated
2 Derek Chisora
3 Efe Ajagba
4 Frank Sanchez
5 Moses Itauma
6 Richard Torrez Jr
7 Daniel Dubois
8 Filip Hrgovic
9 Jared Anderson
10 Michael Hunter
11 Martin Bakole
12 Bakhodir Jalolov
13 Peter Kadiru
14 Lawrence Okollie
15 Guido Vianello

“We need someone so that AJ can come back in a competitive fight after being out for what will be over a year and get himself ready for what will be one last roll of the dice.

“A defeat now at this stage of his career would be devastating to those plans. So we need to get it right.”

Tyson Fury remains the main target for a summer blockbuster, after the Mancunian recently reversed his retirement.

Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka has been linked as a possible dance partner for Joshua’s next fight, but no discussions have been held as of yet.

Genuine negotiations have, however, taken place with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul for a crossover clash in early 2026.

Paul faces WBA lightweight title holder Gervonta Davis in an exhibition bout in November, while he is bizarrely targeting a date with the former two-time unified heavyweight champion thereafter.