Anthony Joshua floats MMA crossover after years of fighters entering boxing

Anthony Joshua has publicly entertained the idea of competing in MMA, saying he has been weighing up a move into a rival combat sport after years of fighters from other disciplines crossing over into boxing.

“Believe me, I was thinking, why don’t I step over into one of their territories because they keep on coming to our territory?” Joshua said on the Mr Verzace podcast. “MMA, kickboxing. These aren’t amateurs, these are actually experienced fighters. It would be good if one of us went into that side and we see how we get on over there.”

Joshua’s comments come after a stretch in which he has been on the winning side of two high-profile crossover bouts. In March 2024, he stopped former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou inside two rounds in Ngannou’s second boxing outing. He has since beaten influencer boxer Jake Paul, giving him back-to-back victories over fighters who made their names outside the traditional boxing circuit.

The two-time world heavyweight champion acknowledged that a move to MMA would not carry the same commercial weight as the reverse journey. “Even if let’s say, Anthony Joshua — speaking in third person — was to cross over into MMA, it wouldn’t be as big as them coming over into boxing,” he said. “Boxing is just the pinnacle of combat sport.” He added that a name opponent would be essential for the numbers to make sense: “100 percent I’d want a name opponent. So that means it’s big business then.”

Joshua also left the door open to kickboxing rather than MMA specifically, pointing to the recent bout between longtime Glory heavyweight champion Rico Verhoeven and pound-for-pound boxing great Oleksandr Usyk as a template. Verhoeven pushed Usyk through 10 rounds before suffering a controversial TKO stoppage in the closing seconds of the 11th.

The former champion is aware of the risks. He referenced James Toney, the former boxing world champion who signed with the UFC and was immediately taken down and submitted by Randy Couture — a bout that became a cautionary tale about the gap between boxing and mixed martial arts. Holly Holm offered a contrasting precedent, transitioning from boxing to MMA and eventually dethroning the undefeated Ronda Rousey to claim the UFC bantamweight title.

“There has been a case study where someone like James has crossed over,” Joshua said. “Those guys keep on coming over into our territory. It will be interesting to see who the first one will be to cross over.”

No specific opponent, promotion, or timeline has been mentioned, and Joshua stopped short of committing to any firm plans.