By Scott Gilfoid: Like many boxing fans, I was somewhat amused and shocked at hearing British heavyweight contender Anthony Joshua’s fast-talking promoter Eddie Hearn bring up the name of 2nd tier heavyweight Manuel Charr (28-3, 16 KOs) as a possible opponent for Joshua’s next fight on July 18th. The 30-year-old Charr has lost two out of his last four fights, and he’s no longer even ranked in the top 15.
Why Hearn would want to match Joshua up against Charr is unclear. I think it’s a fight on the same level as Joshua’s last opponent 35-year-old Kevin Johnson, who some fans felt looked no better than a punching bag last Saturday night against Joshua.
“Manuel Charr is a great fight for Anthony Joshua,” Hearn said last Saturday when talking about who he would like to match Joshua against in his next fight.
I do have to admit that Charr is very similar to the 13 guys that Hearn has dug up for Joshua to fight in his first 13 fights of his pro career. At least Hearn is being consistent if nothing else. But usually in the pro game the promoters move their fighters up against progressively tougher and tougher opposition in order to develop their skills, stamina and confidence. What Hearn has been doing is pretty much keeping Joshua stuck at the same level as he was in his first fight as a pro two years ago. The only thing that’s changed is all the muscle weight that Joshua has put on. He looked like a bodybuilder now rather than a fighter, and he moves like a bodybuilder.
We’re talking slow. Joshua has gotten away with being slow on his feet due to the guys that Hearn has been feeding him since his first pro fight. But at some point Hearn going to have to step it up for Joshua to put him in with a A-level fighter, and you’d hate for that to happen when he fights for a world title against someone like WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wlder or IBF/IBO/WBA/WBO heavyweight champ Wladimir Klitschko. Going from fighting guys like Charr and Kevin Johnson to fighting talents like Wilder and Klitschko, it’s going to be a real problem for Joshua. I see Joshua losing 30 pounds of muscle after he suffers his first loss. Once he realizes that he needs more speed to compete against the A-level heavyweights, I see him then trimming down from 250 to 220 and trying to get back the speed he had in the Olympics. I don’t know if he’ll be able to take off that muscle without being weakened though.
“Every governing body is looking at Anthony Joshua and saying ‘please fight for my title.’ So we’re not going to have a problem getting him a shot at a world title,” Hearn said.
If Hearn can get Joshua a shot at a world title, which I don’t believe he can, then he needs to go ahead and do it already instead of just flapping his gums about it. But with the way that Hearn is matching Joshua, I don’t see him taking the risk even if he could get him a world title fight. I mean, if he can’t even match him against a fringe contender, then what is he doing talking about world title shots for Joshua? Hearn is talking about wanting to match him against a 2nd tier fighter with two losses in his last four rights in Manuel Charr. It makes no sense in Hearn crowing about how he can get a world title fight for Joshua.
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