Anthony Joshua, a guest at Saturday’s Saul “Canelo” Alvarez-William Scull fight card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, announced on the broadcast that he will soon undergo elbow surgery and be out of action for up to two months.

The revelation came during an undercard fight, when DAZN sideline reporter Claudia Trejos asked Joshua when he planned to return to the ring.

“When do you want me back, people? I’m trying to get my body right,” said Joshua, the 28-4 (25 KOs) former unified heavyweight champion. “I’ve got to have, actually, a little surgery on my elbow … sometime in May. We’ll finalize the details, which will see me out of the gym for maybe 6-8 weeks, and then as soon I’m healed, I’ll be back.”

Joshua most recently fell by fifth-round knockout to titleholder Daniel Dubois last September in an all-Londoner matchup at Wembley Stadium.

Jason Langendorf is the former Boxing Editor of ESPN.com, was a contributor to Ringside Seat and the Queensberry Rules, and has written about boxing for Vice, The Guardian, Chicago Sun-Times and other publications. A member of the Boxing Writers Association of America, he can be found at LinkedIn and followed on X and Bluesky.