Anthony Joshua confirms he will defend heavyweight belts in March with Pulev or Usyk in line for title shot

ANTHONY JOSHUA has confirmed he will step back into the ring in March to defend his heavyweight belts.

The Brit became a two-time world champ after getting revenge on Andy Ruiz Jr on Saturday six months after his shock defeat.

AJ, 30, is likely to fight mandatory challengers Oleksandr Usyk or Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev.

Keeping hold of all four of his belts could cause a problem for the Brit with Usyk mandatory for the WBO and Pulev for the IBF.

Joshua told Sky Sports: “The work begins again because around March I’ll be defending those titles again.

“I’m already focusing on my next fight.

“Anyone can get it, the resume shows that but I’ll be keen to handle my mandataries because the current WBC champion is fighting with Tyson Fury so good luck to them both, that’s another exciting fight for the division.

“In the meantime, I’ll handle my mandatories that I’ll have to do or I want to vacate a belt and I’ve just worked hard to get them I don’t want to give them away.

“I’m just going to go over all my steps, all my processes, knock them down one by one and when the big boys are ready, Britain’s here and waiting to become the next undisputed champion of the world.”

March’s fight would come just a month after Tyson Fury’s highly-anticipated rematch against WBC title holder Wilder.

More to follow…