A defiant Anthony Joshua, with his career seemingly being held together with tape by his clever promoter Eddie Hearn, insists that he’ll stay at the top for as long as he wants.
For knowledgable fans who don’t have their heads buried in the ground, former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) is winning now because of Hearn, who matches him against opposition that he can beat.
The 34-year-old Joshua wants to regain his throne at the top of the heavyweight division and is in a perfect position to accomplish his goal by being matched against Francis Ngannou (0-1) on March 8th at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. AJ needs a victory to get the undisputed contest.
From Glory to Dust
Although Joshua has won his last three fights, he doesn’t look like the same guy he was during the glory years of his professional career from 2013 to 2018, when he was mowing down the opposition that Hearn was setting him up with.
AJ’s defeat against the gatekeeper Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019 was a crushing blow, making it clear that he wasn’t the fighter his UK boxing fans thought he was. That was just the beginning.
Joshua’s two defeats against Oleksander Usyk made it clear that he’s incapable of existing at the top level of the heavyweight division and must be matched carefully against fringe-level fighters to succeed.
Rebuilding and Regrouping
“I’ve never left! I’ll always be [there]. From the minute I’ve laced up these gloves from the amateurs until now, I’ve managed to keep my name at the top of the amateur and professional scenes,” said Anthony Joshua to Sky Sports News.
“It’s just the truth, it’s just how it is, and I think it’ll be that way until I don’t want to fight anymore.”
AJ’s keep-at-it attitude is admirable because a lot of fighters would have quit if they were in the same position as him. However, with the money that Joshua brings in for his fights against the likes of Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius, Jermaine Franklin, and now the boxing novice Francis Ngannou, it makes sense why AJ is continuing.
Joshua’s Best Career Wins:
– Andy Ruiz Jr.
– Wladimir Klitschko
– Alexander Povetkin
– Charles Martin
– Joseph Parker
– Carlos Takam
– Kubrat Pulev
– Dillian Whyte
Most would agree that Joshua’s resume is paper-thin, with only the victory against then-39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko. Hearn has done a masterful job of building AJ.
