Former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could return to the ring sooner than later, according to Matchroom found Barry Hearn.

Earlier this month, Joshua won a tough twelve round unanimous decision over Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena in London. It was Joshua's first win after suffering back to back decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

It was expected that Joshua would next return in the summer.

However, the British star would later take to social media and state that he wouldn't fight until the month of December.

"My next fight is scheduled for December. Not ideal but everything is part of a bigger picture," Joshua stated.

But, the elder Hearn believes Joshua could easily return at a later date - with his ring outing not yet set in stone.

“Firstly, I think there were a few misquotes about he’s not boxing until December. He’s thinking about not boxing until December. I love Anthony but he’s on holiday at the moment, He’s having a good time. He spends his life in training camps," Hearn told JOE.

“When you’re having a good time, you like to carry on having a good time, but I know Anthony a bit better than that. I won’t be a 100 percent surprised to see a U-turn on that."

The frontrunner to face Joshua is Dillian Whyte, who was stopped in the seventh round of their 2015 encounter. Another possible option, is a mega-fight with WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury - but that appears unlikely to happen at the moment.