Promoter Eddie Hearn insists that Anthony Joshua is an excessive amount of of a “sniper” for his combat in opposition to IBF heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois to show right into a warfare on September twenty first at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Joshua’s Prime and Current Trajectory
Hearn feels that Joshua, 34, is within the absolute prime of his profession after breezing by 4 consecutive opponents and turning his profession round. Joshua’s prime was again in 2016, and he’s been on the downward slope since 2019.
That mentioned, many followers really feel that Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) is simply as susceptible as earlier than and is heading in direction of oblivion in opposition to Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), able to be uncovered once more.
For instance, Joshua is coming off of a second-round knockout win over Francis Ngannou (0-2) on March eighth, a fighter who didn’t belong in the identical ring with him, and it was a travesty that the combat was sanctioned as an expert match.
Doubts and Considerations Over Joshua’s Vulnerability
The truth that Joshua was prepared to combat that degree of opponent says rather a lot about how far he’d sunk after his two defeats in opposition to Oleksandr Usyk. These losses took rather a lot out of Joshua’s self-belief, leaving him prepared to combat a 0-1 man, Otto Wallin, Robert Helenius, and Jermaine Franklin earlier than that.
“It’s not a great time to combat AJ. The important thing factors for me are two huge punchers of their absolute primes,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Probox TV about Anthony Joshua’s combat in opposition to IBF heavyweight Champion Daniel Dubois on September twenty first.
It’s a good time for Dubois, 26, to combat Joshua as a result of Joshua is an older fighter, about to show 35 in October. He’s prone to come out slugging, which can put him susceptible to being knocked out by the youthful fighter.
Dubois’s Alternative and Battle-Examined Expertise
If this match turns into an early shootout, it’s a must to favor Dubois as a result of he’s battle-tested and has taken arduous pictures from high quality fighters in his current matches in opposition to these guys:
- Filip Hrgovic
- Oleksandr Usyk
- Jarrell Miller
“Some individuals name it a shootout, however I believe AJ is a prime sniper,” mentioned Hearn. “He’s too correct; he’s too good; and I believe in case you’re going to get hit in opposition to Anthony Joshua, you’re going to have severe issues, and AJ’s not going to face in entrance of him like Filip Hrgovic and simply chip pictures.”
Joshua was a sniper in opposition to Ngannou, however solely as a result of he confronted a one-fight novice with out expertise. That wasn’t an expert fighter who put his time in grade and belonged within the ring with him. A combat like that’s completely unfair. It’s like going to the native YMCA, discovering some no one, and signing them up for a combat.
