Promoter Eddie Hearn claims Anthony Joshua’s win over Francis Ngannou has sent “shockwaves around the world” with his second-round knockout over the former UFC heavyweight champion in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
You can understand why Hearn would be tossing around overinflated praise for the 34-year-old Joshua. Just recently, after his second loss to Oleksandr Usyk, the boxing public viewed him as mentally washed up. Thanks to his promoter Hearn’s careful guidance, Joshua has returned and restored his credibility.
Hearn says AJ’s victory over Ngannou was the best knockout since the “birth of boxing,” which is high praise.
AJ must still beat the Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk winner to become the king of the heavyweight division. But until then, he’s unquestionably the most popular heavyweight, which financially is what really matters.
Hyperbole and High Praise
“A performance that shockwaves around the world as the #1 heavyweight on the planet displayed ferocity and superstardom,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Anthony Joshua’s win over Francis Ngannou last Friday night.
“Some say knockout of the year. I say knockout since the birth of boxing. I thought we’d stop him, but I thought it would come a bit later on. It was a great performance. The comeback for Anthony Joshua is unbelievable. I’m talking about the mental comeback.”
We always knew that Joshua never suffered mentally when facing beatable opposition. He struggled to deal with adversity against Usyk and Andy Ruiz. He crumbled against both of those heavyweights, losing in disappointing performances.
“I’m talking about the comeback from criticism. I’m talking about the comeback to form. Should he retire now, or is he the best heavyweight in the world? It’s one of the two,” said Hearn about Joshua.
The Redemption Narrative
“So, what this guy has done to come back to the position he’s in is unbelievable. Like a broken man after the second Usyk fight, searching for answers, searching for form. He has worked so hard to find it. He never stopped believing. He never stopped working. He’s a hell of a boy, AJ.
“In my opinion, Usyk is #1,” said Hearn when asked what he thinks Oleksandr Usyk is ranked.”
Joshua still has a ways to go before he redeems fully, but he’s very close to doing that. If he can fight Fury or Usyk later this year, he can prove that he’s back and deserving of the #1 spot in the division.