Boxing Fans Reckon Anthony Joshua Sent Hidden Message In New Year's Photo

Boxing fans think they might have spotted a hidden message in Anthony Joshua's New Year's photo.

The former heavyweight champion has had a bit of a difficult few months, losing his three titles in his last fight.

But he didn't let it dampen his celebrations, with the 32-year-old calling time on 2021 in Dubai.

In a photo shared on his Instagram account, Joshua can be seen standing on a balcony in front of the Atlantis hotel on the Palm.

He simply captioned the photo: "2022."

However, while it might look like a fairly standard holiday snap, some eagle-eyed boxing boffins believe there's more to it than meets the eye.

The fighter's followers piled into the comments to share their support, wishing him well for the coming year and some pointed out that his hand gesture signalled his intent to get his coveted belts back.

Joshua seems to be pointing three fingers towards the camera, which fans think is a reference to the WBA, WBO and IBF titles he lost to Oleksandr Usyk in September last year.

It was the second time he has lost the belts, the first being to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. And if he his successful in regaining them, it would make him a three-time heavyweight champion.

Commenting on the post, one user said: "That's right, 3x!"

"3 times," put another.

According to reports, it's thought that Joshua will get a chance to regain his belts later this year.

Speaking to IFL TV, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn said work was ongoing to get a deal done.

He said: "Obviously not much other than we got to get together and decide a date. April is realistic for that fight and where it’s going to be.

"AJ is the type that fights twice a year, and sometimes we feel like it would be nice to fight three times a year. We’ve had offers from around the world, but I think the UK will stage that fight."

But while his fans are keen to see him back at the top of the pile, it seems there's no love lost between Joshua and rival Tyson Fury.

Fury took to the stage in Manchester last month to goad his fans into a cheeky sing-a-long that branded his domestic arch-enemy, Anthony Joshua, as a 'p***k'.

The Gypsy King was at the start of his homecoming tour of the UK after retaining his heavyweight title in a trilogy bout against Deontay Wilder in October.

And as per usual, his army of supporters were right there behind him to join in with the impromptu karaoke sesh as the 33-year-old put on a typically showman-like performance up on stage, leading the crowd with a call-and-response refrain of 'AJ is a p***k'.