ANTHONY JOSHUA’S hopes of challenging for a world title have suffered a setback as his next fight for the belt has yet to be sanctioned.
After three wins in Saudi Arabia, AJ is due to play again at Wembley Stadium with 90,000 spectators in September.
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And British rival Daniel Dubois is the leading name to welcome Joshua to the UK.
Dubois recently won the IBF interim title by defeating Filip Hrgovic – giving him the next chance at the full version of Oleksandr Usyk.
But after his historic win in May, Usyk has a rematch with Tyson Fury scheduled, so he won’t be able to face No.1 contender Dubois.
So the expectation was that the IBF would dethrone the Ukrainian undisputed champion, to give AJ and Dubois a chance to challenge for the vacant spot.
But the IBF said Sky Sports been there done that No A request was made to sanction an all-British bout for the belt.
Usyk, 37, became the heavyweight division’s first four-belt undisputed champion after his win over Fury, 35.
And now both of them are going to face each other again on 21st December in Saudi Arabia.
Meanwhile, Joshua, 34, is edging closer to his first fight at Wembley since 2018, with 26-year-old Dubois the frontrunner to face him.
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AJ recently posted on social media: “I’m almost done negotiating for my next fight! I’m feeling motivated.”
Joshua has twice sold out Wembley to win world titles over Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin.
He also defeated Carlos Takam and Joseph Parker at the 75,000-strong Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
His most recent fights in the UK were at the O2, with wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius coming after a double loss to Usyk.
Deontay Wilder was in the running to fight A.J., but got his line wrong twice, losing to the 32-year-old Parker and 41-year-old Zhilei Zhang.
So, after a win over the 32-year-old Hrgovic, Dubois moves up in line to fight Joshua.
