Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed he'll discuss retirement with Anthony Joshua when he gets wind that he's not as sharp as usual in training.
The world was recently stunned when Tyson Fury opted to hang up his gloves, just weeks after losing to Oleksandr Usyk for a second time.
Joshua hasn't fought since losing to Daniel Dubois back in September, with the Watford-born star's future up in the air.
Hearn is adamant that the 35-year-old still has what it takes to perform at the highest level.
Boxing news: Eddie Hearn has revealed he'll discuss retirement with Anthony Joshua when he gets wind that he's not as sharp as usual in training.
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However, the boxing supremo has also revealed that he'll be ready to discuss retirement with Joshua should he ever learn that the fighter's sharpness has dropped.
Speaking to Betfred, Hearn said: "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.
“Now he feels good. He’s had all his health checked, a few injuries have all been sorted and now he goes back into camp.
"In this camp, maybe the performance begins to decline a little bit, so it’s fight by fight.
"The end is near for AJ and I think he’s going to have his last two or three fights. This could be his last year in boxing. Who knows? Certainly another defeat would signal the end."
Joshua is currently mulling over his next opponent.
And Hearn says the boxer is willing to face Dubois for a second time, while also being open to a bout with Joseph Parker.
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“AJ’s the boss," he continued.
"It makes me laugh when you hear people like Johnny Nelson or talkSport saying 'Eddie Hearn doesn’t want this fight', because it’s absolutely nothing to do with me who AJ fights.
"The only thing I will do is offer my advice into the pot alongside six other people. AJ will take all that information on board and make his own decision.
“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 per cent of what he wants to do and if that’s Daniel Dubois, no problem. If that’s Joseph Parker, no problem.
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"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?"
