by Daven: Prior to Saturday’s encounter with Michael Sprott, there was much speculation suggesting Anthony Joshua would soon be facing Kevin Johnson on January 31. These rumours have proven to be true as AJ and Eddie Hearn spoke of the plan two nights ago. The central concern for fighter and promoter in this case, is to try to find an opponent who can take Joshua into the second half of a fight without posing any real threat. Johnson seems to fit the bill then.
It was only six months ago Johnson went the full 12 with Chisora in a relatively competitive fight for the first 7 rounds. Now Chisora is rated in the top 10 by all 4 governing bodies so Johnson sticking around to the end has obviously impressed Eddie. Whilst Joshua should be expected to emerge victorious owing to Johnson’s declining physical condition, it’s not guaranteed to be easy.
“Kingpin’s” defence is excellent, whilst it can be dull to watch the man fight, he is certainly disciplined in the ring and has mastered the art of surviving. View his encounters with Vitali, Fury and Chisora as evidence. His jab is still potent, it used to be excellent but his decreasing stamina has made it difficult for him to keep up a healthy work-rate for 12 rounds. Accordingly this is where AJ can capitalise in a brutal fashion; one expects the first 4 rounds to be very technical with Johnson maintaining a high guard and looking to stay away from AJ’s power punches.
Ultimately though AJ will land big and an ageing Kevin Johnson will fall, this is almost guaranteed. On the plus side for Hearn, his fighter should at least be active for 6 or so rounds. After this “test” it’d be prudent to pit Joshua in with somebody with decent speed or power. Names such as Ian Lewison and Gary Cornish spring to mind. Both hold decent records as well as being in good shape. A win over one of these 2 could set Joshua up for a mega domestic showdown with Price, Chisora or Fury. Heck, I wouldn’t put it past Matchroom to give us Audley Harrison!
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