Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte could write another chapter in their rivalry if ‘AJ’ opts to pursue a warm-up fight before a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.

‘The Gypsy King’ eased to victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday night with Joshua watching on from the front row.

Fury demanded his old rival accept his latest challenge with boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh also bellowing for Eddie Hearn to join them in the ring to make it official.

It didn’t happen with Joshua remaining in his seat, reminding everyone that we have all been here before. Amid talk of an agreement for the pair to fight live on Netflix in September at Dublin’s Croke Park, a stalemate that has stood for almost a decade will continue for now.

Fury later questioned what the hold-up might be with the answer perhaps obvious. Joshua heavily alluded to life away from boxing being the priority for the time being, still mourning the loss of close friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele who died in that devastating car crash in Nigeria in December.

Joshua was also asked on Saturday if his preference would be to take a tune-up fight before any war with Fury. The former Olympian knocked out Jake Paul in Miami five days before Christmas in what was his first fight since his brutal defeat to Daniel Dubois in September in 2024. Six rounds against Paul surely won’t be considered ideal preparation for Fury.

If Joshua does choose to pursue a tune-up fight, Deontay Wilder is one option after his recent victory over Derek Chisora. While ‘The Bronze Bomber’ is another who is no longer operating at his destructive best, he would still represent a sizeable risk. That is also another fight that proved impossible to make over the years while two were at the peak of their powers.

Former world champion Johnny Nelson believes Whyte would represent a sensible option. The two shared a wild and engrossing rivalry a decade ago, resulting in a seventh-round knockout for Joshua in December 2015. A rematch three years ago fell through after the Brixton heavyweight returned and adverse finding from a random anti-doping test.

Whyte’s powers are also on the wane, knocked out in the first round of his last fight against emerging British star Moses Itauma. But given their history, Nelson believes Joshua vs Whyte II makes good business sense.

‘It’s a clever fight to make,’ Nelson told Metro. ‘If you get Anthony Joshua in with a fighter that nobody knows, it will be called a soft touch. So you need a story. You put Anthony Joshua in with Dillian Whyte and you have the story. Even though Dillian is past his best, there is a good story there.

‘There is still that needle there so the public can get excited. That way, people will forget his best days are behind him, they might forget he just got turned over by Moses.

‘They will just want to see the scrap and see the argument. That could sell. rather than getting AJ in with someone nobody knows.’

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