By Scott Gilfoid: The International Boxing Federation are poised to offer British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (15-0, 15 KOs) an eliminator bout against 35-year-old #6 IBF Carlos Takam (33-2-1, 25 KOs) if he’s interested in fighting for a shot to become the mandatory to IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin.
It’s unclesar whether Joshua and his promoter Eddie Hearn will accept to go that round, because they might feel like they have the money to get the fight with a huge offer to Martin rather than having to work for it with a risky fight against a tough fighter like Takam.
That’s a fight that Joshua could lose, especially if Takam takes the fight to the deeper rounds and forces him to lug his bodybuilder like frame around the ring.
“Teper and Takam are the next two, but if there is a problem with either one, we would go to Joshua,” said IBF championships chairman Lindsey E Tucker to skysports.com. “If Teper is out, yes, it will be Takam and Joshua. They will be fighting for the No 1 position, which is the mandatory challenge.
Hearn isn’t saying whether he’d be interested in putting the 6’6”, 245lb Joshua in with Takam to earn the title shot. Like I said, Hearn might choose to throw money at Martin in hopes of getting the title shot for Joshua straightaway.
Joshua is ranked #5 by the IBF at the moment. They can either continue to fight whoever they want until eventually the IBF ranks Joshua at No.1 without him having to fight anyone dangerous for the spot, or they could accept the fight against Takam and take their chances.
My guess is Hearn will just continue to match Joshua as he pleased and they’ll instead wait for the IBF to give him a No.1 ranking in a year or two. If they don’t fight for the spot, then it could take a considerable amount of time. Joshua might end up the WBC mandatory before he becomes the IBF mandatory, and that’s not a good thing, because WBC champion Deontay Wilder has the size, speed and punching power to knock Joshua’s lights out with a single shot.
Announcements coming next week! Big night planned for April 9th 👊🏾👊🏾 #AJBoxing pic.twitter.com/R44DynPvmt
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyfjoshua) January 26, 2016
We saw how Dillian Whyte had Joshua staggering in their fight last December. Can you imagine what it would be like if Wilder was connecting with his right hands over and over again. I can’t see Joshua lasting more than a round or two with Wilder swatting him in the head left and right.
If Joshua and Hearn don’t accept the IBF’s offer to fight in an eliminator against Takam, then #7 IBF contender Joseph Parker’s team have already expressed interest in moving past Joshua to take the fight with Takam to earn the title shot.
“I can’t wait to get back in the ring on April 9,” Joshua said to skysports.com. “I feel fit and ready to take on whoever I need to continue my journey to the top.”
Joshua will likely face Dereck Chisora for the vacant EBU heavyweight title. This is the belt that Robert Helenius is vacating, because he reportedly wants to go after a world title. I don’t see the upside in Joshua fighting for a strap against Chisora, but Hearn might see it as an easy money fight for Joshua. I guess the idea would be to sell Joshua-Chisora on pay-per-view on Sky Box Office on April 9 at the O2 Arena in London, UK.
I can’t say I would be interested in paying to see a mismatch like that. If Hearn made it complimentary for me to see it, I’d watch it, but I sure as heck wouldn’t want to pay to see Joshua bludgeon an aging no-hoper like Chisora. I can’t really wrap my teeth around paying to see a fighter that was twice soundly beaten by Tyson Fury fight. That’s me though. I’m sure a lot of British boxing fans will be chomping at the bit, eager to pay to see Joshua fight under any circumstances. I’m a little more discerning. If Joshua fights someone with talent like Kubrat Pulev, Dillian Whyte [with a healthy left shoulder], or Joseph Parker, then I see those as PPV worthy fights. But a fight between Joshua and Chisora, nah, no thanks. I’m not interested.
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