Anthony Joshua faces weeks out on the sidelines as he gets set for surgery later this month

FORMER world heavyweight boxing champion Anthony Joshua is to undergo elbow surgery later this month as he prepares for a possible comeback fight with Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk before the end of the year.

In September 2021, Joshua lost his World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organisation (WBO) and International Boxing Organisation (IBO) titles to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, when they met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Since then, he has been on the comeback trail, fighting several eliminators, with the fight against Francis Ngannou last year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, being one of them.

However, in his last fight, Joshua, 35, suffered a knockout loss to Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium last September. His comeback plans may now be on hold as according to the UK tabloid, The Sun, he has struggled with an injury that has left him unable to punch properly, forcing him to pause full-scale training.

Usyk, 37, has said he has two opponents in mind for what will be the final fight of his illustrious boxing career before retirement, with Joshua being one of them. Usyk, who will defend his undisputed heavyweight crown against Daniel Dubois in a highly-anticipated rematch at Wembley Stadium on July 19, has said he wants his last fight to be against either Anthony Joshua or Tyson Fury.

It could be that Joshua and Fury face each other first with the winner of the bout going on to face Usyk in his final fight.  Although fans continue to buzz over a potential showdown with Tyson Fury, Joshua is firmly focused on recovery.

Joshua said: “I’m trying to get my body right. I’ve got to actually have a little surgery on my elbow, sometime in May. Once I’m healed, I’ll be back.

“If I want to be here for the long term, I just want to make sure my body is really, really good before I get back into the ring. In boxing, being good isn’t enough. To be world champion, you have to be great. I was good in my last fight but not great.”

This operation is expected to sideline him for six to eight weeks, dashing hopes of a June or July return previously targeted by his promoter, Eddie Hearn.  Despite this setback, however, Joshua has not ruled out a future clash with Fury.