Ian JohnLast weekend, former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua defeated his American opponent Jermaine Franklin unanimously on points to claim a much needed win.
However, the manner of victory and Joshua’s performance on the night has seen a number of people question whether the Watford-born former Olympic gold medallist has the heart to continue fighting on at the highest level.
While the British fighter was a clear winner on points, his overall performance lacked the power and pace of the bouts when he was at his best.
And then on the occasions when Joshua’s power did hurt Frankin, it was abundantly clear that he was concerned with a counter-punch catching him, such as Andy Ruiz Jr. landed when he first lost his belts to the Mexican-American.
Dillian Whyte Critical Of Joshua’s Performance
One of Joshua’s most vocal critics after the fight was Dillian Whyte, who had also defeated Franklin on points in the American’s last fight before Joshua.
Speaking on BBC Radio Five Live, Whyte commented that:
“Joshua has lost all his aggression and killer instincts.
“If he doesn’t want to do it any more, I think he should stop.
“Every time Franklin shaped up like he was going to hit him, he hesitated. I’ve never seen him like that, he’s a bit shell-shocked.”
Another to question the British fighter was former Super-Middleweight world champion, Carl Froch.
“In the ring at world-title level he’s been there, done the business.
“Now I don’t know. What motivates him? He wants the money. I don’t understand why he’s fighting. I just don’t. It’s a dangerous sport. Money can’t be the motivation when you have earned over £100m.
“I’ve not seen anything in that performance that he wants to be a world champion again.”
“Haters, Pure Haters”
When told about the comments after the fight, Joshua went on the offensive.
“All these fighters are haters, pure haters. I don’t expect them to like me, I don’t like them either.”
“There’s a lot of haters out there. They are not my friends anyway.”
Speaking about his performance, he added:
“You land one shot and the fighter is looking like they’re looking to go and then you go rushing in for another shot and they’re not there for the taking.
“If I see a wounded animal, I’m going to go in for the kill. If it was the 13th round of 15, he wouldn’t have survived.
“Mike Tyson went 12 rounds with people like Pinklon Thomas and Tony Tucker, so what’s wrong with me going 12 rounds?”
Back In Action Soon
Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn confirmed that there were no plans for Joshua to quit boxing and confirmed that he expected the fighter to be boxing twice more this year, once in the summer and then again in the winter towards the end of the year.
The question is, who will those fights be against and what could they be leading up to?
Speaking in the ring after the bout Joshua said he wanted to give the fans what they wanted to see, which would be a bout against the current WBC World Champion, Tyson Fury.
Joshua said that he would be “honoured” to fight for the WBC crown in that speech.
Given that Fury’s potential unification bout with Oleksandr Usyk, who has beaten Joshua twice to win and then retain the other heavyweight belts, now seems on the skids, there is potential for Fury to perhaps step in the ring with Joshua.
However, Fury could rightfully claim that a lacklustre win over an American boxer that hasn’t shone at the top level is not really adequate enough for a shot at the world title.
Especially when there are other fighters such as Joe Joyce and Deontay Wilder also hoping to be in with a shot at another belt.
So what could be the next step for Joshua if he is set to fight twice more this year?
Joshua’s Next Opponents?
Given how rusty he looked in the ring against Franklin, as well as his seeming unwillingness to move in for the kill, it does look like Joshua needs at least one more fight, if not two, in order to get himself ready for a fight against one of the big guns.
So who could that next opponent be and where?
There is little appetite in the Joshua camp to tangle with Oleksandr Usyk again, which means if Joshua wants a belt, negotiations would have to begin once again with Fury’s camp.
With two different sets of promoters and with different TV contracts, there would be plenty to sort out, but there is no doubt that it is a fight that would appeal to the fighting public and it is one that many fans would love to see.
Another option is Deontay Wilder, with the American knockout specialist confirming he still packs devastating power with his first round knockout of Robert Helenius in October last year in his first fight since the trilogy against Tyson Fury.
Joe Joyce is another name that has been thrown into the ring with the British fighter winning all of his 15 fights and he is the number 1 contender for a shot at one of Usyk’s belts.
However, all those fights may be a very tough challenge for Joshua given his performance in his last bout against a much less talented opponent.
Therefore, I think a stepping stone fight is the wisest move, for the British fighter to get his confidence back and rediscover his finishing threat.
Otto Wallin could be one opponent, as could the veteran Luis Ortiz.
Other names to consider are Frank Sanchez, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Jared Anderson, and Croatia Filip Hrgovic.
Age Not On His Side
What is clear is that Joshua needs a more impressive performance and ideally, a knockout win if he is to push his claims to be a genuine world title contender once again.
At age 33, Joshua still has a little time on his side given that top heavyweights nowadays are in their mid-to-late thirties, but there is no mistaking that time is not on his side.
With Deontay Wilder rumoured to be ready to step up to fight Oleksandr Usyk and Fury’s next opponent not known, Joshua’s next step needs to be carefully considered to put him back into contention amongst the elite heavyweights.
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