Joshua hasn't fought since September 21, 2024, when he lost in devastating fashion to then-IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. Since then, "AJ" has been rumoured to face off against the likes of Tyson Fury, Martin Bakole and Jake Paul, but the former two-time unified world champion never put pen to paper for a fight and has left boxing fans to speculate when he'd step back into the ring.

With time running out to put together a bout for this year, it would have been reasonable to assume that Joshua's return would have to wait until next year at the earliest, but on Saturday night the Matchroom boss seemingly confirmed that the 36-year-old would fight sometime before New Year's Day.

Speaking to Chris Mannix in Orlando on the Lenier Pero vs. Jordan Thompson broadcast on DAZN, Hearn gave a succinct response when asked about Joshua's next fight.

"You've got about three dates left [in 2025] by my count: November 15 [Eubank vs. Benn 2 in London], December 13 [Pacheco vs. Sadjo in California], and you're working the December 27 show [Inoue vs. Picasso in Riyadh]," Mannix said to Hearn. "Will we see Anthony Joshua on any of those shows?"

Hearn, after a brief pause, responded simply, "Yes."

Joshua has not fought on the undercard of an event for many years, but Hearn has previously raised the possibility of the 2012 Olympic gold medalist doing so when he eventually makes his return. No further details where provided by Hearn as to when Joshua's next fight would be officially announced.

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