In September 2021, Anthony Joshua suffered only the second professional defeat of his boxing career at the hands of Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk.

The Watford-born fighter had his heavyweight titles snatched from his grasp after a shock defeat to the skilful southpaw, losing via unanimous decision at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

Whilst it remains only the second blemish on AJ's professional record, the defeat has incredibly seen him plummet to fifth in the WBA's heavyweight rankings.

Joshua now sits behind fellow Brit Daniel Dubois, Michael Hunter, Robert Helenius and the cousin of the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson FuryHughie.

Surprisingly, however, this recent ranking from the WBA is no different from the ranking given to Joshua by the IBF, where he also sits in fifth spot.

The number one ranking remains vacant, whilst the other three spots above Joshua are occupied by Joseph Parker, Filip Hrgovic and American Charles Martin.

Even the WBO rankings fail to offer much consolation to Joshua as he has only managed to gain one spot compared to the other organisations. Joshua places fourth behind compatriot Joe Joyce, Parker and in third is the man who handed Joshua his first professional defeat Andy Ruiz Jr.

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However, AJ will be hoping to shake up these rankings with a rematch planned against Usyk early next year.

The undefeated Ukrainian will have to step into the ring with Joshua for a second time due to a rematch clause inserted into the contract for the pair's first fight.

Although an official date is yet to be announced, it is believed the fight will take place around spring 2022.

Joshua is looking to exact revenge on Usyk and reclaim his belts immediately, and it seems as if he has a determination unlike anything we've seen from him before, telling iFL TV: "I'm done with f****** losing."

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ENTER GIVEAWAY

Joshua was ruthless in his rant, stating: "I have one thing in my mind, that’s war, that’s murder, that’s war, let’s go out there and hurt the guy."

Whatever the outcome, it's sure to be an exciting matchup, and one that could decide the future of AJ's boxing career.