Former heavyweight champion who beat Anthony Joshua says his ‘mission is not over’ as comeback confirmed

The heavyweight division has been blown wide open recently, and in response one former ruler who defeated Anthony Joshua is hoping that he can get back into contention for the heavyweight throne, with his comeback fight officially confirmed.

The WBA, WBC and IBF world titles were in the possession of Oleksandr Usyk until last month, but an underwhelming performance against kickboxing legend Rico Verhoeven seemed to convince the Ukrainian that Father Time may have caught up with him.

As a result, the 39-year-old has decided to drop the belts, but to remain in the sport for now, with Murat Gassiev (WBA) and Agit Kabayel (WBC) each being elevated to full world champions in his place, whilst a fight for the vacant IBF strap has been ordered.

Consequently, there are a number of heavyweights who believe that they would be able to topple one of the newly crowned champions, including another former unified titleholder, Andy Ruiz Jr, who famously dethroned Joshua in 2019.

Ruiz stepped in on short notice to face Joshua at Madison Square Garden in New York, and despite being viewed as a big underdog, was able to land multiple knockdowns and secure the shock seventh round stoppage win.

His reign was short-lived after losing those belts to Joshua in the immediate rematch six months later, and since then he has only competed on three occasions, defeating Chris Arreola and Luis Ortiz before a draw with Jarrell Miller in August 2024.

He is now set to get his career back on track after signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and on his Instagram account, ‘The Destroyer’ outlined that his ‘mission is not over’.

“I’m coming, no matter what anyone says, the mission is not over.”

His first fight under Hearn has been announced, as he headlines a New Jersey card against Poland’s Damian Knyba, who notably lost out to Agit Kabayel at the beginning of the year.

The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, September 4, with middleweight duo Vito Mielnicki and Austin ‘Ammo’ Williams poised to collide in an intriguing co-main event.