‘He looks in a great place’: Eddie Hearn sees many positive signs in Anthony Joshua

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 04: Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom Sport, in attendance during the Dereck Chisora v Deontay Wilder: 100 fight night at The O2 Arena on April 04, 2026 in London, England. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images) | Getty Images

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spent some time talking to DAZN about Anthony Joshua’s impending return fight before he heads into a big showdown with Tyson Fury later this year. In this segment Hearn discusses Joshua’s mindset as he comes back from a tragic car accident, his upcoming opponent, and teaming up with former opponent Oleksandr Usyk in training camp. Here’s some of what he had to say below.

Hearn on the work being put into AJ’s return

“It’s a huge moment. Obviously we finished last year with the Jake Paul fight, which was good fun and got Anthony back in the ring and the devastation of the tragic accident in Nigeria and the passing of his two closest friends — it was a terrible moment for everybody and the families. And AJ need that time to recover physically, emotionally and mentally and [I] kind of left him to his own devices in that respect, in terms of time.

“In the last three or four weeks he’s returned to training camp, he’s physically ready to resume full training, and now the road map is set out for 2026: the fight with Prenga, July 25 and of course the Tyson Fury fight later in the year.

“This new setup with Oleksandr Usyk’s been incredible, he’s extremely motivated, and he’s fighting with a different purpose now as well. He’s fighting with the memory if his two good friends that he lost and no one wanted his success more than those two, so he carries a lot of that with him in camp and, like I said, he has a new meaning somewhat in terms of training now and he looks in a great place.”

On whether AJ needs to get a lot rounds in against Prenga to shake the rust off