{"id":485933,"date":"2025-10-09T15:08:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/485933\/"},"modified":"2025-10-09T15:08:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T15:08:11","slug":"anthony-joshua-agrees-to-face-towering-6ft-5in-russian-if-he-wins-next-fight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/485933\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthony Joshua agrees to face towering 6ft 5in Russian if he wins next fight"},"content":{"rendered":"

Arslanbek Makhmudov could land a blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua if he can get through Dave Allen first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Makhmudov is set to meet Allen on Saturday night<\/a> at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena in a must-win fight.<\/p>\n

\"Arslanbek<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Makhmudov squares off against Allen on Saturday in SheffieldCredit: Getty<\/p>\n

The towering 6ft 5in Russian was once considered to be one of the most exciting up-and-comers in the glamour division.<\/p>\n

However, defeats to Agit Kabayel and Guido Vianello have seen his stock plummet.<\/p>\n

A loss to Allen would be catastrophic for Makhmudov’s ambitions, and perhaps more importantly, his future paydays.<\/p>\n

Joshua is currently on the lookout for an opponent as he gears up for a return to the ring in early 2026.<\/p>\n

And according to Makhmudov, the Watford powerhouse agreed to face him via Instagram direct message, providing he gets his hand raised this weekend.<\/p>\n

“I hope I will get a good opportunity with the next win,” he told talkSPORT.com.<\/p>\n

“By the way, Joshua told me on Instagram that if I win this fight, then I will fight with him.<\/p>\n

“He said next year we can do it, Inshallah.”<\/p>\n

When is Anthony Joshua set to return to the ring?<\/p>\n

Joshua hasn’t set foot in the ring since his devastating knockout loss to Daniel Dubois<\/a> in September.<\/p>\n

Surgery on a lingering elbow injury has meant that he only recently returned to full training.<\/p>\n

\"Joshua<\/a><\/p>\n

2<\/p>\n

Joshua has been out of action since his defeat to Dubois last SeptemberCredit: Mark Robinson\/MatchroomMeet Dave Allen’s terrifying opponent who wrestlers bears and takes sledgehammers to the gut<\/p>\n

However, plans are in place for him to box again in either January or February.<\/p>\n

AJ’s handlers are currently fielding offers from Nigeria and Ghana to play host to his comeback fight, while Eddie Hearn<\/a> insists there are 10 names in the running to face his client.<\/a><\/p>\n

Makhmudov hasn’t been expressly mentioned as a potential dance partner by Joshua’s team, although Allen, who is also promoted by Hearn, recently told SecondsOut: “I think he [Joshua] will box Makhmudov if he beats me.<\/p>\n

“But if I win, I don’t think I will box Joshua. I think that is what will happen.<\/p>\n

“I think Makhmudov would, but I wouldn’t. I don’t know [why]. That’s just what I have heard.<\/p>\n

“I’m trying to give you a scoop. Makhmudov is a much scarier-looking guy than me and obviously a bit more of a threat.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Arslanbek Makhmudov could land a blockbuster showdown with Anthony Joshua if he can get through Dave Allen first.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":485934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4108],"tags":[5060,109067,1935,4496,7555,12107,77663,48770,79,16,15,36292,51565,13417],"class_list":{"0":"post-485933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-anthony-joshua","9":"tag-arslanbek-makhmudov","10":"tag-boxing","11":"tag-boxing-news","12":"tag-date","13":"tag-dave-allen","14":"tag-location","15":"tag-next-fight","16":"tag-sports","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-when","20":"tag-where","21":"tag-who"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115344841387668467","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=485933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/485933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/485934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=485933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=485933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=485933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}