Anthony Joshua is willing to fight friend and teammate Moses Itauma if it allows him to become a three-time heavyweight world champion, reports talksport.com.

Itauma and Joshua are both under the stewardship of boxing trainer Ben Davison currently, and have brushed shoulders in both sparring and while in their respective camps.

But the pair are on very different trajectories right now, with 20-year-old Itauma ranked No.1 with the WBO and WBA after brutally knocking out Dillian Whyte.

The young prodigy is looking to put himself in position for world titles, whereas Joshua hasn’t fought since losing his own title clash with Daniel Dubois last September.

Joshua has now been out of action for close to a year, but is plotting a comeback in 2026 as he searches for one last push for world honours.  Trainer Davison had previously suggested the pair would never cross paths competitively, given their mutual respect and sharing of the same gym.

AJ’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, isn’t too keen on a future bout, but believes Joshua would likely accept if it got him back to the top of the division. He told Sky Sports: “I don’t really look at the Moses fight and think that’s a fight for AJ.

“There are many reasons for that. One, what do you gain out of it? Moses is a very good fighter. If you win, you’ve beaten up a 20-year-old. If you lose, you’ve lost to a 20-year-old and your career’s over. It’s a dangerous fight; I rate Moses very highly.

“AJ, his decision would be completely different. He would probably be bang up for fighting Moses.

“He would find that exciting, and if there was a chance to fight Moses for the world heavyweight title, we’d take it in a heartbeat.” Joshua and Itauma will likely not meet in the imminent future, with priorities currently elsewhere for both gifted operators.

Joshua has yet to confirm his next bout after losing to Dubois. It was initially touted that he could return before the end of the year, with a commercial clash with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul being eyed.

But now that it has fallen through, he could look elsewhere with a showdown against Tony Yoka in Africa being touted. Whatever the scenario, it will likely be a tune-up fight before any significant push for world titles again. As for Itauma, he is on a real career high and is pushing for his maiden shot at world honours.