Anthony Joshua called out by UFC star following Wladimir Klitschko's retirement

GiveMeSport

scores

By Raza Kazi

Published Aug 4, 2017

Another interesting proposition has been made to AJ after Klitschko retired

On Thursday, Wladimir Klitschko officially announced his retirement from boxing after a legendary 69-fight career.It’s now a time where the boxing world is celebrating what Dr. Steelhammer has done for the sport, along with recognising his incredible achievements – ranging from his Olympic gold medal win in Atlanta in 1996 to dominating the heavyweight division.

WHAT NEXT?

While he’ll go down as one of the most respected and greatest heavyweights of this generation, fans can’t help but wonder what that means for Anthony Joshua.

Want to become a GMS writer? Sign up now and submit a 250-word test article: http://gms.to/haveyoursay4

Joshua stopped the Ukrainian in the 11th round back in their heavyweight clash at Wembley Stadium in April, and a rematch had been mooted but fans were waiting for the confirmation.

We heard how some huge venues were being discussed all over the world, but Klitschko has now lost that fire and retires on a loss with Kubrat Pulev looking the likely option next for AJ.

While Pulev might not be the biggest payday for the Londoner, Joshua has once again received a huge call-out from a fellow heavyweight, but from a completely different sport.

Conor’s McGregor’s success in luring Floyd Mayweather Jr out of retirement seems to have rubbed off on other mixed martial artists wanting to switch from the Octagon to a boxing ring for a one-off fight.

Jimi Manuwa wants David Haye, Jean Pascal wants Nick Diaz and the list goes on.

CALL-OUT

One man who wants Joshua is UFC heavyweight champion, Stipe Miocic.

The Cleveland native has taken it upon himself to call out Joshua on numerous occasions, but they have fallen on deaf ears over the last couple of months, especially when it looked as if Joshua was preparing for a rematch with Klitschko.

Now that he’s retired, Miocic is up to his usual antics again by taking to Twitter and telling Joshua that there are no excuses this time.

He tweeted: “Much respect @Klitschko on an incredible career. Good luck on the next chapter, champ!

“@anthonyfjoshua looks like your schedule is wide open. No excuses, let’s dance! #BaddestManOnThePlanet.”

While appearing on the Mayweather and McGregor undercard is almost impossible now, it’s certainly a fight which would garner a lot of interest and make them both a lot of money.

He’s not being completely ruled out either, if it was to happen, as the 34-year-old has defeated some huge names in recent years, ranging from Fabricio Werdum to Junior dos Santos where he’s displayed some good knockout power.

However, Joshua has never really shown much interest in what Miocic has had to say, as he posted a comment on Instagram not long ago, practically no-selling the call-out in the infamous words of the Notorious.