Anthony Joshua next fight: Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury or Dillian Whyte... who will he face on April 13?

Anthony Joshua will return to the ring in April next year – but who will he face?

The reigning IBF, WBO and WBA champion successfully defended his world heavyweight titles with a seventh-round knockout victory over Alexander Povetkin last time out.

It was the sixth time the Brit had defended his titles, with 22 professional fights so far. In comparison, boxing greats such as Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko had yet to win a world heavyweight title by this point in their careers.

But while Joshua may be on the way, he cannot claim to be the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world just yet.

Standard Sport takes a look at who he could fight next…

When is it?

The date for Joshua’s next fight has been confirmed for Saturday April 13 2019.

Where will it happen?

The fight will take place at Wembley Stadium, the venue where he defeated Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.

Who will he face?

Let's take a look at the the contenders…

Deontay Wilder

Wilder faces Tyson Fury on December 1, as the American looks to defend his WBC belt.

Talk of a bout with Wilder predated Joshua’s clash with Povetkin, but doing so ahead of the mandatory fight with the Russian would have seen Joshua forfeit his titles.

Joshua’s camp claim to have submitted a signed contract to Wilder should he dispose of Fury, and that bout would present AJ with the opportunity to hold all of the world heavyweight title belts.

Speaking after his victory over Povetkin at Wembley, Joshua admitted that fighting the American was his preferred choice.

"My number one would be Wilder, let's not talk about a number two or three."

So who are the other two options?

Tyson Fury

A fight with Fury would be a blockbuster bout to say the least, and the self-proclaimed Gypsy King has unfinished business.

Fury won the unified WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO heavyweight titles in 2015 by defeating Klitschko in Dusseldorf, but he would later be stripped of that IBF title for agreeing to a rematch with the Ukrainian in oppose to facing a mandatory challenger.

That contest, initially billed for July 2016, was cancelled twice while Fury was also charged by UK Anti-Doping.

The final postponement would occur in September that year, declaring himself medically unfit. Fury would later vacate the WBA, WBO and IBO titles.

Fast-forward to 2018, and the British Boxing Board of Control agreed to reinstate Fury’s boxing license providing his submitted up-to-date medical records.

He signed a multi-fight deal with Frank Warren’s Queensbury Promotions. He defeated Sefer Seferi in the fourth round of his comeback fight, before defeating Francesco Pianeta in August.

December’s clash with Wilder will be a huge test for Fury – but he already has one eye on a potential bout with Joshua.

"I think it is safe to say that neither Team Joshua or Matchroom will fight the Gypsy King,” said Fury.

“They mentioned if it is not Wilder, it will be Whyte, but there was no mention of Tyson Fury, the lineal champion of the world.

"It is all right fighting men 39-year-old and half your size. [This] is the best evidence that I am fighting the best heavyweight out there in Wilder, Joshua is not even close. He is slow, methodical, ponderous at times, powerful yes, but they all are."

Dillian Whyte

Joshua fought and defeated Whyte back in 2015 – but both fighters have improved since then.

Joshua talked up a potential clash with Whyte after defeating Povetkin.

"All I want to fight is serious challengers,” he said. “If Dillian [Whyte] wants to fight here he is also more than welcome."

While clashes with Wilder or Fury may be appealing for boxing fans, a fight between Joshua and Whyte cannot be ruled out.

Wilder would be taking a huge risk not to include rematch clause in the contract with Fury, and if required, would have to take place before any clash with Joshua.

That would leave both boxers a little over five months to fight a rematch, recover, and prepare for that clash with Joshua in April. It would be a tall ask for any boxer, let alone a fight of this magnitude.

In his last fight, Whyte dispatched of Josheph Parker at London's O2 Arena.

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