Joshua dropped the former UFC heavyweight champion three times in two rounds with the final right hand closing the show in dramatic fashion with Ngannou needing oxygen and a doctor before he got back up.
Now Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to meet in a bout on May 18 that will unify all four belts for the first time in heavyweight history.
However, the pair are contracted to an immediate rematch, likely ruling them out for the whole year and Joshua has expressed that he will not sit and wait with his eyes already set on a summer return.
“Whether it will be in the UK, who knows? But maybe June, June/July,” he said.
After Fury’s first fight with Usyk, the winner could face being stripped of the IBF title due to their rematch clause and that would leave number one contender Joshua in line to challenge for the belt against interim champion Filip Hrgovic.
Joshua had initially signed to face Deontay Wilder until the American was stunned in defeat to Joseph Parker in December. Parker followed that performance up with a win over Zhilei Zhang on the ‘Knockout Chaos’ undercard.
These three heavyweights are all options Joshua is considering for his next fight as he said, “Wilder, Zhang, Parker. All of them. Let’s go!”