Anthony Joshua went from dominant world champion to a shaky middling contender.
After suffering back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk, Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) attempted to shake things up in his camp. However, despite enlisting the help of a new coach and bagging wins over Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius, the now 34-year-old never looked sharp with Derrick James manning his corner.
Another change was needed as Joshua headed into his recent showdown against Otto Wallin. Some were bemused by his decision but Joshua was confident that both he and Ben Davison would gel well…he was right.
On December 23rd, there was nothing Wallin could do to trouble Joshua, leading to a quick fifth-round stoppage defeat. Even more so than Joshua, Eddie Hearn, his longtime promoter, may have been the happiest person in the arena.
In the immediate, Joshua is going to face MMA veteran Francis Ngannou in March. However, while a win over Ngannou would be a solid one, Hearn is hoping to throw his man in the ring with Tyson Fury, who struggled in a split decision win over Ngannou last October.
By and large, Fury is considered a future Hall of Famer and the best heavyweight around. Superlatives aside, nevertheless, Hearn has all of the confidence in the world in Joshua getting it done if they matched up.
“I think he beats him all day long,” Hearn told Boxing Social.
Fury might be the only fighter on Joshua’s mind but the feeling isn’t mutual. In mid-February, Fury is set to go up against Usyk with all of the heavyweight marbles on the line.
In the past, Hearn has worked with Usyk and considers him an incredible fighter and a great man. With that said, he’s hoping that he doesn’t bring his A game and comes up short on the night.
“Hopefully Tyson can beat Usyk and we’ll be one step closer to that.”
