Anthony Joshua has revealed that former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko remains the hardest puncher he has ever faced in the ring, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The Nigerian-British fighter, who became an Olympic gold medallist at London 2012 before turning professional in 2013, has shared the ring with some of the sport’s most feared hitters, including Andy Ruiz Jr and Oleksandr Usyk.

But when asked to reflect on his toughest opponent in terms of punching power, the 35-year-old singled out Klitschko, whom he defeated in a dramatic world title bout at Wembley in 2017.

Speaking on the Pound for Pound podcast via DAZN, Joshua said Klitschko’s shots carried a unique level of danger.

“Who’s hit me the hardest? Yeah, Klitschko,” he admitted.

He added, “I was gonna say Ruiz, but when he hit me, that was like a concussion on the back of my head. When I went in with Klitschko, yeah, I just knew this could go two ways. I could either win or I’m gonna be laid out on my back. You know when you get carried out on a stretcher?”

Joshua, who captured the IBF title in 2016 after stopping Charles Martin, went on to unify the heavyweight division before suffering a shock loss to Ruiz in 2019. He has not fought since September 2024, when he was knocked out by Daniel Dubois, later undergoing elbow surgery during the summer.

His next steps remain uncertain, but promoter Eddie Hearn has suggested a comeback fight is being planned for early 2026, with long-term ambitions centred on a showdown with Tyson Fury.

Hearn said Joshua had shown renewed commitment in training and was eager to return to action. “Now he’s back in training and my conversations over the last couple of weeks have been very positive with him about locking in a date and returning,” Hearn told Sky Sports.

He continued, “Then I saw that post [directed at Fury]. When AJ posts something like that, you know that he’s on. He’s like, ‘let’s go, I’m back, ’ and that’s where we’re up to. So the next move is to lock in that fight in early 2026, and then we want Tyson Fury.”

Fury, 37, announced his retirement earlier this year after back-to-back defeats against Usyk, but has hinted at a comeback. Hearn believes a meeting between the two British heavyweights is possible, although both are expected to take separate fights first.

“We expect Fury to have another fight as well, if he’s going to fight AJ. There haven’t really been any conversations,” Hearn said.

“The kind of vibe I’m getting from the team is ‘we’re confident it will happen’. But until we start talking, who knows? We’re not just putting all our eggs in one basket to say it’s Tyson Fury because before that, we’re going to have another fight and we’ve got to win that one first.” (PUNCH)