By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten #6 WBC Anthony Joshua (13-0, 13 KOs) says he would like to face former two division world champion David Haye of Britain in the near future if possible, but if he can’t get that fight, which would seem likely, then he’d be interested in facing WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (33-0, 32 KOs).
Joshua believes that he’s a better boxer than the 6’7” Wilder despite the 6’6” Joshua becoming slow, flat-footed and very rigid in his upper body in the past two years with all the muscle weight that he’s put on since he turned pro.
Joshua has gone from being a lean 220+ pound heavyweight to a 248 pound fighter who looks more like a bodybuilder than a professional fighter. Not surprisingly, Joshua’s speed, which was never good to begin with, has slowed down. There’s no way of telling what the end game is for Joshua in terms of him packing on more and more muscle.
My guess is Joshua will eventually top out around 280, and be far too muscular to be a threat to the top guys in the sport. I think 260 for Joshua is a given at this point. With the way he’s putting on muscle at a very, very rapid pace, I think he’ll be soon over 260, and slow like the late Primo Canera.
“There is a big fight out there for me if David Haye makes his comeback,” Joshua said via Skysports.com. “But I would be happy to meet Deontay before that. He has raw power but I believe I’m a better boxer.”
I think Joshua needs to recognize that his chances of ever fighting the 34-year-old David Haye are about zero. That’s clearly not going to happen. I mean, look at the reality of the situation. Haye hasn’t fought in three years since destroying British domestic fighter Derek Chsora in five rounds in 2012, and he’s made a lot of money in the sport with his fights against Chisora and Wladimir Klitschko. On top of that, Haye suffered a bad shoulder injury not long ago, and he still hasn’t fought since then. I don’t know that Haye will ever fight again. He doesn’t have the same need that other fighters have.
Haye has already made big bank during his career. If Haye does come back, I see him following the same formula that he took to get the Klitschko fight for a big payday. To earn the Klitschko match, Haye beat four average heavyweights to get that fight. This time around, if there is one for Haye, I see him taking maybe two or three 2nd tier heavyweights before fighting Deontay for his WBC world title.
There would be no reason for Haye to fight a non-champion like Joshua because he doesn’t have a world title, and there are major question marks whether Joshua is even capable of ever winning a world title. With the way that Joshua is putting on more and more muscle, he could become too musclebound to do anything in the sport.
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