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ANTHONY JOSHUA could return in a massive fight by December following defeat to Oleksandr Usyk again.

The British superstar, for the second time in the space of a year, was beaten on points by the pound-for-pound No1.

It leaves AJ out of the heavyweight title picture but still in line to face some of the biggest names in the division.

Promoter Eddie Hearn told talkSPORT: “I’d like to see him back out. Maybe even in late December

“There’s massive fights for him. Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder.

“There’s so many fights for him in the top [ten]. There’s even some Brits for him that are coming through in a couple of fights as well.”

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“We’ve just got to see what he wants to do. It’s going to be a tough, tough defeat to take but he’ll be back.”

Joshua, 32, beat Dillian Whyte, 34, in 2015which came six years after losing their bout in the amateurs.

And Wilder, 35, who returns on October 15, was a long-standing rival of AJ's but the pair failed to agree terms in the past.

Joshua lost the titles last September on points and travelled to Saudi Arabia 11 months on for a revenge mission.

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He had his moments and went out swinging over the distance but Usyk, 35, was just too good for the new and improved AJ.

Hearn was quick to shut down any talk of retirement following defeat to one of the finest boxers in the business.

He said: “People talked in the build-up about him retiring.

“When you lose a split decision to the pound-for-pound number one, why would you contemplate retirement?

"It’s about passion. It’s about if you still want it. You could see how much he wanted it by his post-fight interview.”

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