Anthony Joshua finally got back to winning after a long break by defeating Jermaine Franklin at London. It wasn’t perfect, but it was enough for Anthony to secure a victory through a unanimous decision. The fight also marked Anthony’s first match with his new coach, Derrick James, and they will have more chances to work together in the future.
Eddie Hearn thinks that 33-year-old Joshua will have two boxing matches during 2023, one in the summer and another in December. So, what is coming up next for this English fighter? – 5 Live Boxing with Steve Bunce: Joshua v Franklin debrief
Dreams of an Amazing Fight
Tyson Fury is the WBC World Heavyweight Champion and he has won 33 professional fights and drew one since 2008.
After beating Franklin, Joshua was asked if he would fight Tyson Fury – the champion – to which he said yes. He went on to explain that take it with both hands if his coach and team said it would be a good idea because all of boxing needed the fight.
This has happened before. Two very famous boxers were about to agree on an amazing fight, but then something went wrong.
In August 2020, almost everything was settled and the fight would be held in Saudi Arabia, but then a sports court said that one of the boxers had to fight someone else first.
Another reason why the fight didn’t take place was because at the end of last year, one boxer missed his own deadline. After that, he fought somebody else instead.
Steve Bunce intervened when Tony Bellew scuffle was starting. Recently a ‘historic undisputed clash’, which was going to be the first of its kind, between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk could not happen because they failed to agree terms. Right now Fury, 34 years old, and Joshua have an amazing opportunity to make things right with their fans and at the same time make lots money from it.
For the fight to occur, different people behind the event – such as promoters and broadcasters – need to cooperate and Fury and Joshua might need to make some changes. According to Hearn, this could be next in line.
He states, “How soon should we do it? It’d be hard not to take if the opportunity presents itself.”
Joshua has only one chance to try and win a world title which is against the champion Usyk, but he didn’t beat him in two tries so nobody wants them to fight again.
A Monumental Matchup
Wilder has won 43 fights in total, and 42 of those were knockouts – with two losses and a draw. His most recent fight against Robert Helenius ended in the first round with Wilder as the victor.
If you want to experience a thrilling fight that offers the highest possibility of seeing a knockout, then Joshua V Wilder might be your best bet.
Earlier in 2019 when these two boxers had all four titles at stake between them and were looking unstoppable, a disagreement over money caused them to miss out on this potential monumental clash.
It might be easier to get a deal done now since neither fighter has something to defend and no one is forcing them to fight against each other. Wilder is 37-years-old and he was known for being really good at punching, which could make him the perfect opponent for Joshua.
“It’s a big deal,” Hearn said. “Franklin was Joshua’s first fight since he switched to his new trainer. As Joshua keeps having fights under this trainer, he’ll get better and better – but people don’t want to wait so long.”
Usyk and Fury are seen as the best two heavyweights in the world, and so if Joshua and Wilder fight each other, whoever wins might be able to get a chance at regaining a world title.
Joe Joyce
Joe Joyce is a British boxer who recently beat the former world champion Joseph Parker in the 11th round. Now, he is the top contender for a heavyweight boost title held by Usyk and also has agreed to fight Joshua if he wins his upcoming match against China’s Zhilei Zhang. Both of them used to train together in Team GB making it an interesting match to look forward to!
Hearn said that Joyce is a good fighter and he’s not as big or strong as Fury or Wilder, but he’s still tough to beat. They have practiced together many times so AJ believes he would win if they ever fought. Joyce has an incredible chin, having won lots of championships after his successful amateur career where he earned silver at the 2016 Olympics – people call him ‘Juggernaut’ because of how powerful his punches are.
Joyce has won all 15 fights he participated in so far and 14 out of them have been knockouts. His opponents include Joseph Parker (a former world champion), Daniel Dubois (WBA ‘Regular’ champion) and Carlos Takam (a world-title challenger).
Carl Frampton, who is a two-weight world champion, said that Joyce was “the guy nobody really wants to fight”. He considered him as a tough fight for fighters like Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk and Anthony Joshua.
“Joshua vs
Dillian Whyte, aged 34, beat Jermaine Franklin in a points-based competition which Joshua was at the scene to witness. These two men have had issues before; going all the way back to their teen years when Dillian outmatched Joshua in a show-off back in 2009. The quarrel continued into adulthood and during a great occasion, Joshua won against his former opponent by stopping him with a punch in the seventh round.
Whyte said on Saturday that he wanted a chance to prove himself by getting revenge on Joshua, who keeps playing the video of him being knocked out. Whyte is a type of fighter who uses his brawling skills to beat his opponents and in November he won against Franklin in a fight, but not as completely as Joshua did.
The two British boxers, Joshua and Whyte, are very different people when they’re outside of the ring. While Joshua has a thoughtful attitude in his interviews, Whyte is direct and to-the-point.
Their next fight could be held in either a stadium or at O2 Arena. The promoter Hearn hasn’t decided yet which venue would be better and thinks it might be cheaper to hold the fight in O2 Arena if ticket prices there are lower compared to stadiums.
Anthony Joshua’s Tough Decision
In other words, it’s possible that Anthony Joshua doesn’t need to fight a very strong heavyweight wrestler right now. He could benefit from someone with a similar skill level as Franklin and the paying public may not be satisfied.
Joshua used to always win his fights in spectacular fashion, which made fans really excited. But recently, he has changed his approach and is choosing not to fight recklessly—which may have caused fewer people to come see him fight lesser competitors. “It can be hard to sell those kinds of bouts,” Hearn said, talking about the balance between developing a career and making money from it.
No matter what choice Joshua makes, he still has a lot of options. Many fighters would be willing to battle the two-time world champion for lots of money.
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