Anthony Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has opened up on whether or not his client is thinking about retirement as he plots a way back to the top of boxing.
AJ has suffered some high-profile defeats recently after two losses to Oleksandr Usyk and a battering from Daniel Dubois in his last fight.
It has given the former world champion plenty of food for thought with his reputation in need of repair.
A blockbuster all-British bout against Tyson Fury was tipped for some point this year but the Gypsy King, reeling from his own Usyk defeats, retired from the sport to knock that idea on the head.
Eddie Hearn has been speaking about his client Anthony Joshua
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There have been plenty of potential match-ups that have spoken about including Deontay Wilder, who is in a similar position after back-to-back losses to Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker.
However, another option for Joshua is to follow in Fury's footsteps and call it a day - though Hearn has insisted that is not on the horizon just yet.
Speaking to BetFred, when asked about retirement, the Matchroom chief replied: “Not yet, but there will come the time.
"Those kinds of conversations really come from behind the scenes from how somebody is performing in camp. In training camp, if you haven’t got it anymore, it’ll be apparent.
"The injuries will get worse, you’ll get hurt in sparring against somebody you shouldn’t be getting hurt against.
"You’re not sharp and when that moment comes, that’s when the team will say 'AJ’s not looking good you know', and that’s the moment when I will probably have a conversation with him.
“For the Daniel Dubois fight, the camp was great. He was super sharp and we were really confident going into that fight, coming off four good wins, two really good wins, and we thought he would win.
"We knew how dangerous the fight was, so he comes out, has a terrible start, never really recovers, comes back into the fight a little bit and gets chinned. No problem.
"If camp had gone really poorly and we were unsure, I think that conversation may have been brought forward."
Anthony Joshua most recently lost to Daniel Dubois but a rematch could still happen
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With reports suggesting that Joshua is looking to fight twice this year, time appears to be running out on an opponent and a date - with such mega-fights usually needing months of preparation.
But Hearn is still confident he can deliver on his plan and wants AJ to battle it out for the heavyweight title once more despite his recent defeats.
He added: “Right now because Tyson Fury is retired, so put him to the side for one second, the number one choice for AJ is to fight for the world heavyweight title. That’s 99% of what he wants to do and if that’s Daniel Dubois, no problem.
Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury had been in talks over a potential fight until Fury retired
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"If that’s Joseph Parker, no problem. If AJ turns around and says that’s what he’s doing, then it’s done.
"It’s not me going saying he can’t fight Daniel Dubois. Some people say he shouldn’t have fought Oleksandr Usyk. What are you talking about?
"It’s your job, he’s the mandatory, what do you want to do? Give your belt up and have all that criticism that you ducked Usyk and you vacated your belt to do it?"
