Anthony Joshua and Matchroom announce “career-long” promotional deal

Three-belt heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn renewed their vows earlier today, announcing a “career-long” extension to their promotional deal.

The 1,126 word official announcement from Matchroom is light on specific terms or details, but very deep on career highlights and fond reminiscences of their relationship so far.

Joshua went with the old adage of a picture being worth a thousand words, and shared the news much more succinctly.

The 31 year old Joshua has spent his entire professional career working with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing. Hearn first signed Joshua to a promotional deal in 2013, when Joshua was coming off of a gold medal victory in the 2012 London Olympics. The partnership was extended in 2015, and then again in 2018.

Unlike the previous contracts, this deal has no publicly announced duration. All parties involved say it will last through the end of Joshua’s career, whenever that time comes.

Joshua previously speculated he might retire “in five years provided everything goes to plan.” That was four years and nine months ago, but there’s no telling how the COVID pandemic’s impact on the boxing world might have influenced that vague timeline.

Joshua’s next fight comes this Saturday in London against Oleksander Usyk, and Joshua says he’s been focused on preparing for that challenge. Whatever comes after, potentially including the rumored two fight deal with Tyson Fury that famously collapsed over the summer? It will all apparently continue under the promotional stewardship of Eddie Hearn and Matchroom.