By Charles Brun: Eddie Hearn was on his hindlegs today, going off on the many boxing fans that feel that Anthony Joshua is “finished in the sport” after ten years as a pro.
Hearn says Joshua (23-3, 22 KOs) is working hard in Texas with his new trainer, and he’s coming back with a “vengeance” on April 1st when he faces the recently beaten Jermaine Franklin in what many fans see as a confidence builder to turn his sagging career around.
You hate to say it, but Joshua is the textbook definition of a shot fighter at this stage. The only thing the wily Hearn can do to reverse course in AJ’s career is to return to the way he was skillfully matching him earlier in his career when he was feeding him exclusively old guys and ordinary heavyweights that were cannon fodder to make him look better than he was.
To the average fan, the former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua looks shot beyond belief at 33, heading towards the Derek Chisora category, and no match for the top tier in the division.
What we’re about to see on April 1st is just how over-the-hill Joshua is at this stage in his career. If Franklin (21-1, 14 KOs) beats Joshua, there’s nothing Hearn can say to try and spin things to continue to babble about how good times are just around the corner for the fading ex-champion.
“The disrespect on this man’s name is unbelievable. The people that want to downplay his achievements in the sport. You people who want to say he’s finished in the sport; get f***ing ready for the return of Anthony Joshua on April 1st. I’m telling you, he’s coming back with a vengeance. Write him off at your peril,” said Eddie Hearn to the DAZN Boxing Show.
While some people believe Joshua’s problems are solely the result of his poor stamina and punch resistance, this writer sees it as a case of him never being a good heavyweight, to begin with.
Let’s face it, Joshua’s gold medal in the 2012 Olympics was controversial, as he clearly lost to Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle in the finals, Kazakhstan’s Ivan Dychko, Cuba’s Erislandy Savon and China’s Zhang Zhilei.
“This guy is out there in Texas; he’s working & grinding every day,” said Hearn. “This guy has got money in the bank, world championship belts on the wall. He don’t care for either of them. He cares about the world of boxing.
“I can’t believe. We live in a world where this guy has gone on a run with Charles Martin, Molina, Breazeale, Klitschko, Parker, Povetkin, Takam, Ruiz, Pulev and Usyk twice, with no breaks,” said Hearn about Joshua’s victories over played out, over-the-hill fighters.