By Scott Gilfoid: In a sign that Anthony Joshua (14-0, 14 KOs) doesn’t have the ability to see his opponents as separate fighters with different skills and talents, he says that he’s going to treat his next opponent Dillian Whyte (16-0, 13 KOs) just like he’s done with his previous 14 opponents and try to KO him in 3 rounds or less like he did against those 14 opponents.
This means that Joshua is going to most certainly bum rush the hard hitting Whyte and score a quick knockout so that he fits in with the gawd awful opposition that he’s faced in his first 14 fights. I can’t say that it’s the smartest thing for Joshua to do if he does try and steamroll Joshua, because he’s the wrong approach to go after a puncher like him.
“I believe that he is just another opponent. When I say three rounds, that’s because I’m going to treat him like my 14 [previous] opponents,” Joshua said to skysports.com. “The reason I say three rounds is because that’s what I’m used to. I’ve said ‘this is going to go six rounds or this is going to go eight rounds’ but it’s gone two, three rounds.”
Oh boy, Joshua doesn’t sound like he’s thinking too clearly, does he? The guy is basically saying that one size fits all with his opponents in terms of talent. In Joshua’s mind, because he beat 14 fodder opponents in 3 rounds or less, he’s going to treat the talented opponents like they’re fodder opponents and go after them in the same way without using tactics, making adjustments or looking to keep from getting his own head knocked off.
Well, I wish Joshua a lot of luck with his fight this Saturday, because he’s going to need all the luck he can get. If Joshua is going to fight like that his entire career, then he’s going to have huge problems when he fights the other talents.
We saw in the Olympics how Joshua was out-slugged by Roberto Cammarelle and Erislandy Savon when he foolishly tried to steamroll those two fighters. There were no adjustments at all by Joshua in that Olympics. He basically just went out and tried out to out-punch all the guys he faced, and got lucky in winning four controversial decisions in a row to get the Gold medal.
“These [David Haye, Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko] are the tests that I’m looking to get myself to, by getting through Dillian. These guys are just stepping stones that I’m trying to beat now to get to the real tests, which will prove me as one of the best heavyweights in the division,” Joshua said.
So Joshua sees Whyte as little more than a stepping stone to get to the real tests. I think he had better see him as more than a stepping stone because this is a fight that Joshua could very well lose if Whyte is able to get to his chin like he did in the past in their fight in 2009. Joshua sure hasn’t learned anything in terms of his boxing ability to keep out of harm’s way. Joshua has not learned anything about using movement and defense to keep out of the way of incoming fire since he turned pro in 2013. In other words, Joshua’s offense is his defense, and we don’t even know how good his offense is because he hasn’t fought anyone good yet. This Saturday night will be his first test of his career, and it’s sounding like Joshua doesn’t have clue one in realizing that he’s not fighting another one of the fodder guys that Eddie Hearn has dug up for him to pad his record with.
I can’t blame Joshua for wanting to look past Whyte for the bigger money fights against Klitschko, Fury and Haye. But I think it’s frankly stupid and childish for Joshua to look beyond a dangerous guy like Whyte, especially considering that Joshua hasn’t even gone past 3 rounds yet during his short career. Joshua believes he hasn’t gone past three rounds because he’s so talented, but the reality is that Joshua is facing guys that would be mowed down by most of the top 15 contenders. You throw the same awful opposition that Joshua has faced in the ring with Deontay Wilder, and I bet none of them would make it past the 1st round.
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