Anthony Joshua will face Jermaine Franklin to prepare for further bouts against orthodox fighters, with Eddie Hearn wanting him to move away from southpaws.
The Briton will face the American at The O2 in London on April 1 in his first fight since falling to a second consecutive defeat against Oleksandr Usyk.
The two-time world champion is looking to build his form back up after his pair of stinging losses against the Ukrainian, with the 29-year-old Franklin his first test.
In part, the latter has been chosen to offer a taste of orthodox fights for Joshua, with Hearn hoping for future bouts against Deontay Wilder, Dillian Whyte and Tyson Fury to follow.
"Really, it came down to the style," Hearn told Matchroom.
"I think AJ's coming off the back of two fights against a southpaw, the best southpaw in boxing, in Oleksandr Usyk, and wanted an orthodox fighter.
"The training team really sort of looked at it and said [that] if we're gonna go and fight [Deontay] Wilder, Dillian Whyte, Tyson Fury, there's no point in us going back and fighting a southpaw."
Franklin has 21 wins from 22 professional fights, with his only loss coming against Whyte in November last year.
Joshua had just one career loss before he faced off with Usyk originally in September 2021, losing his WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, and IBO titles in the process.
He then failed to claim revenge in the rematch in August in Jeddah, dropping him to a 24-3 professional record.
IOC denies dragging its heels over decision on Russians and Belarusians for Paris 2024 Olympics
Thomas Bach denied the International Olympic Committee is biding its time over deciding whether Russia and Belarus athletes can compete at Paris 2024 amounted to "kicking it down the road".
IOC president Bach spoke on Tuesday at a press conference after interim recommendations were issued to international federations and organisers of events regarding the involvement of Russians and Belarusians in events while war in Ukraine continues.
The Olympic body urged federations to exclude any athletes or support personnel "who actively support the war", along with anybody "contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies", and said teams from either country should not be allowed to compete in international sport for now.
However, in a statement, the IOC said: "Sports organisations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports."
There is a clear possibility of Russian and Belarusian athletes being allowed to compete as neutrals at the Paris Olympics next year, although Bach stressed there has been no decision taken on that matter, explaining it has yet to be discussed by the IOC executive board.
Bach said the IOC was going along with a United Nations position, and when asked whether Olympic chiefs were simply waiting for the war to end, and holding fire on direct action until then, he refuted the contention.
"We are not kicking it down the road, and we are not waiting," Bach said. "I guess we all would like the war to end now, and this is what we are calling for, but as you can see for all the reasons we are giving the conditions are not related to the development of the war, they are related to the respect of the Olympic charter and the Olympic values, and there we have to address these questions whether somebody is actively supporting the war in whichever way."
Bach said a decision regarding next year's Olympics would be made "at the appropriate time", without indicating when that might be, saying it was important to monitor the latest recommendations "for as long as possible" before taking "an informed decision".
He said there was no timeline because "nobody knows what's happening tomorrow or in one week or in nine months, so we have just to monitor and then find the appropriate time".
Bach knows there is unease in some quarters about the IOC not taking a firm decision.
When asked about Russia being happy its athletes were being able to compete, and Ukraine being unhappy with the situation, Bach said: "We have been accused by the Russian side of being agents of the United States, and we have been accused by Ukrainian side of being promoters of the war, so we appear to be somewhere in the middle."
Joshua 'will retire' if he loses to Franklin
Anthony Joshua will retire from boxing if he loses to Jermaine Franklin on Saturday.
Former WBO world champion Johnny Nelson had suggested Joshua should call time on his career if he loses for the fourth time, having already been defeated by Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk (twice).
And the 33-year-old confirmed he does intend to hang up his gloves if he is beaten by his American opponent at the O2 Arena in London.
"I will. I will retire if I lose. I'm not here to battle people. If people want me to retire I will retire," Joshua said to MailOnline.
"I'm not going to fight if people don't want me too. It's not even about the money. It's about the competitor in you. That's what's important."
Joshua said he would like to face Tyson Fury if the Gypsy King is unable to revive negotiations on a unification fight with Usyk, but also sounded as if he is looking forward to retirement and getting away from the pressure of elite boxing.
"It [pressure] comes with the business and it comes with the territory, I know that," he said. "I know when I am retired, I am gonna be chilling. I'm gonna be thinking f*** everyone. I am done.
"You lot put so much pressure on me so when I am done, the chains are going to be gone. I am going to be laughing and loving life."
Joshua: Fury can redeem himself from Usyk 'letdown' by facing me
Anthony Joshua has challenged Tyson Fury to face him in order to redeem himself from the "letdown" of his heavyweight unification bout against Oleksandr Usyk falling through.
Talks between Fury and Usyk recently broke down after it had appeared the two would agree to fight later this year, as negotiations between Fury and Joshua had done prior to that.
However, ahead of his clash with American Jermaine Franklin on Saturday, Joshua offered Fury the opportunity to renegotiate as he believes the Gypsy King "needs" him.
"There's no better time to get Fury in the ring than now because he needs me to redeem himself from this circus. This letdown," Joshua said.
"He needs me so there's no better time than for him to call my name out and I'm someone that will take on any challenge."
Two-time heavyweight champion Joshua lost back-to-back fights to Usyk and is looking to get back on track with a win against Franklin at London's O2 Arena, which will be his first fight since 2015 that has not been contested with a world title on the line.
Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn recently said: "If the Usyk fight doesn't get made, our message to team Fury is that we'll make the fight now, for straight after the Franklin fight," though AJ did concede he believes Fury and Usyk will eventually come to an agreement.
"It's not my position to slate or slag anyone off. I'm pretty sure [Fury v Usyk] will happen because I feel like there could potentially be a method to the madness," he told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"If, number one, I was in that position [and] didn't take that fight, how would people treat me?
"And number two, if I didn't take that fight what would Fury have to say about me? So I'm not going to stoop to that level.
"I respect everyone that steps into the ring. But I just sometimes think some people should watch their mouths a bit."
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