By Barry Holbrook: Promoter Barry Hearn says the former two-division heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) is at a “crossroads” in his nine-year professional career and can’t absorb another defeat.
Hearn says Joshua could fight one of these three in his next fight:
- Dillian Whyte
- Deontay Wilder
- Otto Wallin
It would be a good idea for Joshua to take the weakest of those three, Whyte, for his next fight because Wilder and Wallin might be too much of a risk for him right now.
While Joshua can absorb another handful of defeats and still remain a viable star in the UK, it will eventually hurt his earning power, and mentally, it could result in the 33-year-old star losing what little self-confidence he has remaining.
The fact that the 2012 Olympic gold medalist is already shopping for a new trainer after just one fight with new trainer Robert Garcia indicates that he’s desperate and lacking in self-belief that can turn things around with his existing coach.
Barry Hearn is eager for Joshua to face Tyson Fury in 2023, and he feels it can happen at the end of the year. Hearn’s desire to make the Joshua-Fury fight happen as soon as possible suggests to some boxing fans that he wants to cash out with AJ before his career fizzles.
Things wouldn’t be as bleak for the 6’6″ Joshua if he didn’t take the immediate rematch with Oleksandr Usyk last August after losing to him last year in September.
Despite many people warning Joshua about taking the rematch with Usyk without a confidence builder, he took it anyway, and the results were disastrous.
Joshua can’t afford another defeat
“I think Dillian is on the list. There are a few other names. Deontay Wilder might be there, Otto Wallin. It’s his call. He is at a crossroads in his career. He can’t afford another loss,” said Barry Hearn said to Sky Sports about Anthony Joshua.
Things wouldn’t be where they are now if Joshua hadn’t fought Andy Ruiz and Usyk. Those are guys that AJ should have swerved because it was obvious that they were bad-style match-ups for him, given their speed & boxing skills.
“The fight we all want to see eventually is AJ against [Tyson] Fury,” Hearn said. “You’ll get stories; Tyson will say the fight will never happen, Joshua will say he’d rather fight Dillian Whyte. Forget all of that.
“This fight has to happen, and I think it does happen at the tail-end of 2023, for all the marbles.”
It would be better for Joshua to put off the Fury fight until 2024 because AJ needs to focus on rebuilding his self-confidence next year. If he faces Fury after a couple of tune-ups in 2024, he will not be ready for him.