Arslanbek Makhmudov says he has spoken to Anthony Joshua and they have agreed that they will fight in 2026 if he wins a 12-round fight with British heavyweight Dave Allen this Saturday (October 11) at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.

AJ’s Dangerous Promise

It will be a dangerous fight for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) against the 6-foot-5 1/2-inch Mahmudov because he is powerful, hits hard and is lethal in the early rounds. Joshua has to land his punches or he will get knocked down by Mahmudov in the early rounds.

First, he has to beat Dave Allen

Makhmudov (20-2, 19 KOs) was brought in with the intention of using him as a stepping stone to get Allen to face former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder next.

If this fight does happen, it will be more about giving the 33-year-old veteran Allen (24-7-2, 19 KOs) a chance to make life-changing money to buy things like a nice house. Mahmudov has his own dream, and an even bigger dream, which is to fight Joshua in 2026.

Allen vs. Mahmudev will be on Live on DAZN This Saturday, October 11th, 2:00 PM ET / 11:00 AM PT.

“You give me words” – dialogue

“I invited him to compete. He said, ‘Well, we can do it next year.'” I said, “Well, tell me.” He said, ‘Okay,'” Arslanbek Makhmudov boxing news On a recent conversation he had with Anthony Joshua.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has yet to reveal who he wants Joshua to fight in early 2026, other than Jake Paul. This match will be determined by whether Jack can win the November 14th exhibition match against Gervonta Davis.

“It’s a great opportunity for a sport. He lost to two guys (Mikhail Nistor and Mahamadrasul Majidov) at the European Championships and the World Championships. I beat those two guys,” Mahmudov said of Joshua.

Both fighters have shown vulnerability recently. Mahmudov lost in knockouts to Guido Vianello and Ajit Kabayel. As far as Joshua is concerned, he has lost to Daniel Dubois and twice to Oleksandr Usyk in the past four years since 2021.

“We have the same symmetry. Same height, same weight and same age,” Alsanbeck said of him and AJ.