Anthony Joshua was reminded by his fight agent before New Year’s Eve that he intended to immediately come off the hiatus from his fight with Otto Wallin in late December and face former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou in March. He joked that when he was pushed, he barely had time to enjoy Christmas.
Joshua’s devastating knockout in the second round showed that he is highly active and has a good relationship with his trainer Ben Davison.
And what will happen on May 18th when Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs), the man who lost three heavyweight belts to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), takes to the ring in Saudi Arabia? I’ll be watching over you. Arabia will face Joshua’s compatriot Tyson Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs).
There is a rematch clause between Usyk and Fury, but Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn has said that if Fury defeats Usyk, he would be willing to stage the highly anticipated fight between Joshua and Fury in the meantime.
Discussing Joshua’s future on Friday’s episode of Probox TV’s “Deep Waters,” analyst and former welterweight champion Paulie Malignaggi said that Joshua is coming off back-to-back losses to Usyk in 2021 and 2022. He said he believed he had made a full recovery. “The new Joshua with (former Fury trainer) Davison…I buy what they’re selling,” Malignaggi said. “I really feel that if Usyk fights a third time, he will be a threat to him.”
Joshua convincingly defeated troublesome southpaw Wallin, who left Fury with 47 stitches, and destroyed Ganoui after the former UFC heavyweight champion knocked down Fury and put the fight on the scoresheet. capability is an important turning point. point.
“We’re back on the Joshua train,” said Chris Algieri, another Deep Waters analyst. “If I were to make a video game character out of a heavyweight, he would have it all: the look, the strength, the technique.” His attitude is back. ”
Joshua lost some of his luster in 2019 when he dropped his U.S. debut with an impressive TKO loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. at Madison Square Garden, but he bounced back with this Saudi Arabian doubleheader and will be back in action in May. The winner is expected to emerge on the 18th and is now the frontrunner. winner. At issue is the rematch clause between Usyk and Fury, and if that takes precedence after the May 18th fight, Joshua will face undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic if he takes on Daniel Dubois on June 1st. (17 wins, 0 losses). Defeat in Saudi Arabia. Malignaggi said.
“Can we start mentioning Filip Hrgovic and make this a real sport?” Malignaggi exclaimed. “Hrgovic was avoided. The winner, Joshua Hrgovic, and Fury Usyk should fight.”
Mr. Algieri agreed that if Mr. Hrgovic was going to “wash and dissect” Mr. Dubois, he deserved a chance to try Mr. Joshua’s jaw.
“We know that (Joshua) is inconsistent, and that inconsistency starts here,” Algieri said, pointing to his head. Joshua’s blow to the head “could happen at any time. It’s like Mike Tyson said. Life changes all at once. It would be very easy for [Joshua] to go back to being the guy who beat Andy Ruiz. ” To fight. ”
With Davison in the corner and a big fight on the horizon, Joshua’s presence increases anticipation for action in the sport’s most exciting division.