When Anthony Joshua returns to the ring he could have the backing of Oleksandr Usyk and the undisputed world champion’s training team.
Joshua is currently "undecided" as to whether he will work with Team Usyk in future but has had a 'fact-finding mission' training in the Ukrainian's set up.
It would be a remarkable development to see Joshua form such a partnership with an old rival who has defeated him twice.
Usyk became the leading heavyweight of this generation with his two victories over both Joshua and Tyson Fury, winning all four major world championships from the British pair.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter, puts the overture down to Joshua's desire to develop himself as a fighter.
"Just the constant look to improve and learn," Hearn told SportNews.
However whether Usyk's team becomes a permanent fixture in Joshua's corner remains to be seen. Hearn described Joshua's position on that as "undecided".
"I've learned over the years stuff like that will come from him in terms of an announcement or a decision. He's always been curious of 'what's that like?'" the promoter said.
Previously in his career Joshua has spent time with world-leading coaches, like Canelo Alvarez's mentor Eddy Reynoso, even though it hasn't become a training partnership.
"Trained with Robert Garcia, ended up going with Robert Garcia for a bit. Trained with Derrick James, went with Derrick James for a little bit," Hearn pointed out. "Trained with other people, didn't go with them.
"I know the way AJ thinks, he probably looks at the performances of Usyk [and thinks] I want to go and check that out. Not like 'I'm going to go and join them'.
"I haven't caught up with him since he's been out there but he'll make a decision soon."
Joshua hasn't fought so far in 2025 but there remains a possibility that he could still box in December. Matchroom are promoting three international bills in Monaco, Ghana and Saudi Arabia next month.
The December 27 card in Riyadh, headlined by Japanese pound-for-pound superstar Naoya Inoue, could present Joshua with the opportunity for a low-key tune-up, with much less pressure on his shoulders than the stadium-topping events he's grown accustomed to.
"We will make a decision this week in terms of if he will fight this year. We have to decide by this weekend basically," Hearn said.
"It doesn't really matter where it is. You won't know about it until maybe even fight week. Honestly. That's the whole purpose of it.
"I think it would be so good for him but bizarre at the same time. Because there's no money in the fight. We're not going to start using him to sell tickets. Literally he will just pop up on a show.
"He's really up for it. I think it would be so good for him," Hearn added. "I'd love him to go in there and just smash someone up."
