Anthony Joshua: I’ll be Undisputed

By Boxing News - 02/24/2021 - Comments

By Barry Holbrook: Anthony Joshua is letting Tyson Fury know that he will be the “Undisputed” heavyweight champion in 2021 when they meet up for their unification fight.

Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) clearly realizes now that he’s the better fighter than Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs), and the victory will be his when the two finally meet in four to five months.

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn is predicting a knockout victory for Joshua over Fury. Hearn has analyzed what Fury brings to the table, and he’s confident that Joshua will stop him.

It’s understandable why Hearn sees Joshua knocking out Fury, as his style is all wrong for the tall 6’9″ Fury. The combination punching that Joshua does will make it hard for Fury to avoid his shots without getting clipped almost immediately.

Fury is excellent at doing long-range shots, but he’s hittable when his opponents are on top of him throwing repeated leather the way Joshua is capable of doing.

Has Fury missed his opportunity?

Fury may have lost his window of opportunity to beat Joshua with the long delay since his last fight against Deontay Wilder in February 2020. After that fight, Fury, 32, was seen as invincible.

At the time, many fans thought that a victory for him over AJ a foregone conclusion, but things have changed now. Fury is inactive, ring rusty, fat, and looking more like a retired aging ex-fighter.

One gets the sense that Fury has lived it up since his big win over Wilder and taken his foot off the throttle the way he did after his victory against Wladimir Klitschko.

Image: Anthony Joshua: I'll be Undisputed

Things have changed since then, with Joshua looking amazing with his recent knockout win over Kubrat Pulev. Joshua’s changes to his game will make it incredibly difficult for Fury to find a way to beat him with the way he’s fighting now.

Hearn says they’ll be letting the fans know this week that the Joshua vs. Fury fight is agreed, and from there, they’ll look at different sites to stage it. The Middle East is still the likely destination for the clash because of the large amount of money.

Hearn predicting knockout for Joshua

“By the end of next week, our plan is to let the world know that both guys have agreed to fight,” said Hearn to the Ak & Barak Show.

“AJ is the guy who has to be the aggressor and looking to be dangerous himself, you’ve got to be wary of what’s coming back, but against [Andy] Ruiz and Wilder, you’re looking for one punch.

“I know what AJ’s got to do.I don’t feel the threat in the fight, I feel it in being outfoxed or outmanoeuvred but not the fear, and I’m quietly confident. And I think our guy’s going to knock him out.”

Joshua’s best method to beat Fury is to attack him with a swarm of punches in the same way Otto Wallin did. If Joshua stays on top of Fury like Wallin, this fight will be easy for him. Joshua’s inside game is well beyond Fury’s, and he’s capable of punching with a lot more power than him.

Image: Anthony Joshua: I'll be Undisputed

Top Rank promoter Bob Arum believes that both fighters will make a massive amount of money, but he’s sure what figure they’ll bring in. We’ve heard crazy numbers from Hearn, talking about Joshua and Fury walking away with $100 million each.

Only time will tell if they walk away with that kind of dough for the first fight.