Anthony Joshua Delivers Ruthless Reply to Proposal from Unbeaten 41-Year-Old Boxing Icon for Return Bout

Anthony Joshua channeled his inner Canelo Alvarez when responding to Andre Ward’s offer for a potential fight.

Joshua is gearing up for his return to the ring, having been inactive since he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois in September last year.

While he is believed to be making a return in late 2025, or at the beginning of 2026, Joshua’s opponent is yet to be officially announced.

One man that is vying for the spot in the opposite corner is, former professional boxer, Andre Ward.

Ward was a hugely respected pound-for-pound fighter in his heyday, although he has been retired since 2017.

The American left the ring with an unbeaten professional record of 32-0, but is now suggesting he’d make a return if Joshua accepts his offer to fight.

Ward took to Instagram when he suggested in a video: “There’s one name that I brought up before that when you say that name I can see myself fighting him. Present day. Today.

“If the business was right and everything was right on that front, me and Anthony Joshua.

“That’s a fight that I would take at Wembley Stadium. It’s a dangerous fight for my legacy, it’s a dangerous fight across the board. But that’s a fight that would get me in the gym and get me in the mindset that I need to be in to go to war.

READ MORE : Anthony Joshua’s Promoter Reveals Why a Jake Paul Showdown

Joshua quickly hit back suggesting that this is purely a financial move from Ward.

He savagely said: “Pay Day Pay Day [Canelo voice].”

Which then sparked a back-and-forth between the pair in the comment section of Ward’s post.

To which Joshua replied: “Don’t come asking for multi millions to fight me. Put your pride before your ego and let’s rumble.”

That was where their public interactions came to a close, although Joshua continued to respond to fans remarks in the same comment section.

Who will Anthony Joshua be fighting next?

Ward seemed serious in getting a chance to fight Joshua, but as it stands the Briton is heavily linked to a fight with another American instead.

Paul recently met with Saudi boxing promoter Turki Alalshikh to discuss the terms.

Having already verbally agreed to fight it seems to be a matter of when, not if, we see them share the ring.

Joshua’s long-term promoter and Matchroom Boxing chairman, Eddie Hearn, issued Paul a warning should their bout go ahead.

It seemed to be a humorous idea at one stage, but now as the conversations are progressing we may seriously see a match up between Joshua and the Youtuber-turned-boxer after all.

Prominent Boxing Commentators Erupt in Outrage Over Anthony Joshua vs. Jake Paul Showdown

Prominent boxing broadcasters from Britain are aghast at news that Anthony Joshua, one of the best heavyweights that the country has produced, could be lining himself up to fight a former star on The Disney Channel, Jake Paul, in a real boxing bout.

Though Joshua has bulldozed his way through a number of elite opponents, like Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin, he has suffered a massive setback in the last 12 months as he got clobbered and flattened by Daniel Dubois. In the time since, Paul has beaten a 58-year-old Mike Tyson, and 39-year-old Julio Cesar Chavez Jr — both of whom are former champions in their respective divisions.

READ MORE : Anthony Joshua’s Promoter Reveals Why a Jake Paul Showdown

Even with Joshua’s noticeable decline, and Paul’s apparent improvements, there is still a significant talent gap that exists between them that makes any fight “very dangerous,” according to Adam Catterall and Gareth A. Davis on talkSPORT.

Here’s a brief transcript from a conversation Davis and Catterall had regarding the crossover fight.

Gareth A. Davies: “Jake Paul is an area-level fighter. A British area-level fighter. And Anthony Joshua is still a killer, and a live heavyweight.”

GAD: “Even Eddie Hearn is saying he doesn’t like the look of it, but you see the glimpses of dollar signs [in his eyes].”

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Adam: “There is no price.”

GAD: “There shouldn’t be.”

Adam: “There’s absolutely no price on the planet to make that fight, because it’s dangerous. You can’t forget money, because it’s still a business at the end of the day, but think about the talent of these two people. You have an Olympic gold medalist … a two-time unified, heavyweight champion of the world, with the most amount of title contests in this era.

“But he’s an area-level novice. When he fought someone with a boxing pulse, Tommy Fury, he got beat!”

It’s no foregone conclusion that Joshua fights Paul next because the British slugger has also been linked with a fellow Olympic gold medalist, Tony Yoka. It’s a fight that French media already say is 90% likely to happen, with one media outlet reporting that Joshua even said he’s expecting to box Yoka.