ANTHONY JOSHUA VS. DEMSEY MCKEAN WILL BE A POTENTIAL RETIREMENT BOUT WITH A NEW TRAINER
London, UK (January 16th, 2023)– Former World Heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, 24-3 with 22 knockouts, Watford, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, will be returning on April 1, 2023, in either London or Australia, under the guidance of new trainer Derrick James, best known as the principal trainer of Errol Spence Jr. and the Charlo brothers, who will replace Robert Garcia after losing twice, along with his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world titles, to Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine.
According to European sportswriter Gareth Davies, Joshua will attempt his 2023 comeback next against 6’6″ Australian southpaw heavyweight Demsey ‘The Tower’ McKean, a former sparring partner, 22-0 with 14 knockouts, Brentwood, Essex, United Kingdom, by way of Ipswich, Queensland, Australia, the current International Boxing Federation Inter-Continental heavyweight champion. McKean has stated publicly he intends to retire Joshua for good.
McKean, who is coming off a third round knockout of 18-1-1 Patrick Korte in South Brisbane, Australia, in October 2022, holds a March 2010 tenth round stoppage victory over American heavyweight Jonathan Rice, who went on to defeat Michael Polite Coffie twice, and then defeated 2016 Olympian Guido Vianello of Italy by fifth round stoppage on a cut this past week at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, on the ESPN Top Rank televised undercard.
While McKean might be considered a safe opponent, if Joshua defeats McKean, his next opponent later in 2023 would be top heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte. Both prospective opponents currently resident in England, and as such, are conveniently available. With Tyson Fury versus Oleksandr Usyk, and Deontay Wilder versus Andy Ruiz Jr. in the works, Joshua versus McKean is on the table. Franklin and Rice could be backup opponents if McKean pulls out. Felip Hrgovic’s mandatory challenge against Usyk has been rescinded by the IBF, as the WBA is next in the rotation, which sets up Fury versus Usyk in March 2023.
Fringe contenders such as Martin Bakole, Joe Joyce, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frank Sanchez, Luis Ortiz, Kubrat Pulev, Ali Eren Demirezen, Daniel Dubois, Fabio Wardley, Dereck Chisora, Joseph Parker, Efe Ajagba, Zhan Kossobutskiy, and Otto Wallin remain in the 2023 heavyweight mix.
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