By Scott Gilfoid: Heavyweight unified champion Anthony Joshua has signed a promotional extension with Matchroom Boxing that is said to last for the remainder of the 31-year-old’s career. On the surface, it’s good for Matchroom, but it doesn’t change ANYTHING for the fans.
The extension means zero for the average fan, as none of them ever believed that Joshua (24-1, 22 KOs) would leave Matchroom and Eddie Hearn. It would mean something if Joshua’s fights were discounted to next to nothing for UK boxing fans, but obviously, that’s not going to happen.
As such, I don’t see how the fans come out ahead with this new career-long extension for Joshua with Matchroom. It’s excellent for Matchroom and more money for Joshua, but how do the fans win? I’m just saying.
“I’m happy where I am. A handshake is good enough for me, but the signature solidifies it, and I’m happy where my signature is,” said Joshua in a statement about his new career extension with Matchroom.
If we live vicariously through Joshua, Hearn, and Matchroom, we can enjoy this new promotional career extension, imagining that we were going to be the ones benefiting. But unless Matchroom and Joshua are talking about dropping the prices for AJ’s PPV fights, I don’t see this as great news that benefits the masses.
2013 ➡️ 2021
𝘉𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨.
𝘔𝘪𝘥𝘥𝘭𝘦.
𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦.Those waistcoats though 😄😄@anthonyjoshua 🤝 @EddieHearn pic.twitter.com/SGTN85GdJY
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) September 21, 2021
Broadcasting the news might be a good recruitment tool for Matchroom to get some fighters to sign with them. Other than that, no change.
Joshua is still with Matchroom, and whether he moves off of Sky Sports to DAZN is unknown. It’s like Joshua will continue to fight on Sky moving forward, as he gets a lot of visibility with them.
With Joshua, you don’t know how long he’s got left in his career. While it sounds great that he’s signed a career-long extension with Matchroom, that career could come to a screeching halt if he gets beaten twice in a row by Oleksandr Usyk.
Sure, Joshua can stay on with Matchroom and keep plugging away after losing two or three times to Usyk, but who would really care at that point?
Joshua will be yesterday’s news if Usyk beats him twice, and I hate to say it, but there’s a genuine possibility that will happen.
If that happens, Eddie Hearn’s Cheshire cat smile is going to evaporate and be replaced with a sour frown, as he realizes what he through was another ten years with Joshua turning out to be no more than a couple of dreadful years. It could be a race to the bottom.
The beginning of the end for Joshua could come this Saturday on September 25th, when he defends his IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight straps against the talented former undisputed cruiserweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, UK.
“The deal has been a while in the making, so we are really pleased to have it signed and sealed before another huge fight on Saturday night,” said Eddie Hearn on Joshua signing a promotional extension.
Maybe the news of the contract extension by AJ will bring in a few more pay-per-view buys for his fight this Saturday night against Usyk, but I doubt it. Fans generally don’t care about contract extensions. They’re more interested in the actual fights.
So if this was Hearn’s idea to release the news of the contract extension by Joshua this week to squeeze in a few more pay-per-view buys, I see it as a fail.
If Hearn wants to build more interest in Saturday’s fight between Joshua and Usyk, he needs to be talking up a fight with the winner of the October 9th trilogy clash between Deontay Wilder and WBC belt holder Tyson Fury.
That’s how you get fans excited about a lackluster fight like Joshua-Usyk. You got to talk about who Joshua will fight next, namely Deontay or Fury.