Anthony Joshua, 36, could have at least three more years in the sport according to Matchroom founder Barry Hearn.
The heavyweight is due to fight the unheralded Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia on Saturday before heading into a gigantic all-British showdown with Tyson Fury in November.
Previously Eddie Hearn had indicated that 2026 might be Joshua’s last in the sport. That was before Joshua, 29-4 (26 KOs), defeated Jake Paul in December and was then involved in a car crash that killed two of his closest friends.
That crash, which left Joshua nursing injuries, is believed to have galvanised the fighting spirit within. The heavyweight, a sponsors’ dream, has given up his other business interests to focus purely on boxing.
“Obviously I’ve seen him since 2012, we got very close. He’s like a member of our family,” Barry Hearn told Sky Sports.
“I don’t think I’ve seen him so motivated for the long term.
“As I say, some of that has been fuelled by that tragic accident, but he’s now talking about the next three years in the ring.
“It was a year ago we were talking about potentially two fights and then go off to a happy retirement.
“He’s very motivated, he feels good about himself, but boxing is a funny sport.
“It takes one decent punch from a big lad to knock out anyone in the world.”
