Anthony Joshua vs Makhmudov – Tony Bellew gives honest verdict on rumoured showdown

The return of Anthony Joshua continues to be speculated, with Eddie Hearn confirming that a fight in Africa in December is now off the table, leaving a return in February as a more likely option.

One potential opponent being rumoured for his return is Arslanbek Makhmudov, who defeated Dave Allen on October 11 in Sheffield. The 6′ 5” Russian has called out Anthony Joshua, and Tony Bellew has since broken down the possible bout to Football Blog, predicting a KO finish.

Eddie Hearn on Anthony Joshua’s return

Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) was last seen in action in September 2024, when he was brutally stopped by Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium.

Eddie Hearn has recently spoken about exciting plans for Joshua’s return: 

“I’m looking at my schedule now, from January. It’s going to be better than I’ve ever done on DAZN before. Turki’s obviously in the mood to do business.

“I was in Dubai with AJ, and then just a really impromptu trip where I knew that he was in Riyadh, and just jumped on a plane, and said, ‘Look, I’ll come see you.’

“A partnership with Matchroom that will be extended, but also just obviously talks of various different fights. You know, a lot of talks around AJ, of course. I’m not, you know…I’m not going to go into it too deep because I don’t want to jinx it, but big plans for Anthony Joshua,” said Hearn.

Tony Bellew on rumoured Joshua vs Makhmudov fight

Makhmudov (21-2, 19 KOs) has made it clear he would love the opportunity to fight: “Everything is perfect, UK fans know me, I showed my good performance in the last fight. Now it’s just to answer the question, When can I fight AJ?”

When asked about a potential AJ vs Makhmudov fight, Bellew had no hesitation about how that would play out: 

“He will knock Makhmudov clean out, you can’t miss him and he actually makes himself small the way he stands. His legs are so wide, the guy’s huge yet every second he was fighting Dave, he was the same height as him. No one pays attention and looks at the smaller details. I think AJ knocks him out, and I think he’s a good fighter, but I think he’s one dimensional.”