Assuming AJ doesn't fight Fury, Whyte or Wilder this year, who comes after Miller?

[W1LL]

Let's assume the Anthony Joshua vs. Jarrell Miller fight is locked in for the Spring. With that fight being a non-contest and a forgone conclusion, who else would you expect to see AJ fight this year, assuming the Fury, Whyte and Wilder fights don't get made?

Michael Hunter? Wladimir Klitschko II? Adam Kownacki? Luis Ortiz? Kubrat Pulev? Oscar Rivas? Oleksandr Usyk? Junlong Zhang? Is there any upcoming mandatories? Who would you like to see, and who makes realistic sense to close out the year?

[Randall Cunning]

WBO mandatory gets called about Sep/Oct, should be his 2nd fight of the year.

[W1LL]

WBO mandatory gets called about Sep/Oct, should be his 2nd fight of the year.

I've heard it mentioned it could be gifted to Usyk, but otherwise Whyte is in pole position? Or is it someone else? I lose track of all this mandatory/regular/interim stuff. What is the purse split for a mandatory defence?

[Randall Cunning]

I've heard it mentioned it could be gifted to Usyk, but otherwise Whyte is in pole position? Or is it someone else? I lose track of all this mandatory/regular/interim stuff. What is the purse split for a mandatory defence?

WBO purse split is 75/25. Whyte is no1 with the WBO, but Usyk being a WBO "Super" champion means his entitled to being mandatory when he moves up.

[W1LL]

I see Eddie Hearn is trying his upmost to get Oleksandr Usyk to declare himself a Heavyweight, to make sure Dillian doesn't get the mandatory spot. I reckon this ploy could come back to bite Hearn in the ass. Usyk is an absolute beast and a horrible match up for AJ stylistically. Usyk may be under the Matchroom banner but no doubt his goals are to conquer the Heavyweight division if he moves up. Would be funny to see Eddie get Usyk moved into the mandatory spot, then Usyk and his team go rogue and tireleslly pursue their shot. I'm guessing Hearn is thinking to put the breaks on Usyk calling for that shot too soon.

[Prince Madison]

Joe Joyce could have worked his way to a shot by the end of the year. Stiverne is no worse than anyone miller has beat.

[W1LL]

Joe Joyce could have worked his way to a shot by the end of the year. Stiverne is no worse than anyone miller has beat.

Think BIG JUGGERNAUT is destined to become the division's boogeyman tbh. After Stiverne, he will be in a good position to corner Luis Ortiz. Think after that he'll be avoided.

[Ray*]

I think we have some younger guys coming up sooner, If the Miller fight goes ahead as have been told then i think he might have to defend one of his belts next, if not then maybe Ortiz to continue with his american events. Who knows, most of these guys at the top want parity to fight him so i doubt we would see those fights until they themselves are able to pull him the sort of money Joshua pulls in.

[BattlingNelson]

I reckon IBF mando is next in the rotation? If so it's Pulev.

[j0zef]

Miller is not foregone conclusion. Dude is 300 pounds with a motor like Floyd. He's a tough fight. A weird fighter.

For the Fall, plenty of great options. Pulev or Ortiz are dangerous veterans that make a great fight. Kownacki I don't buy, but he's making noise as a danger to Wilder. Usyk, if he has another fight at hw in spring, is an excellent opponent. Wlad would be at the top of the list considering how good the first fight was.