Eddie Hearn is satisfied that Anthony Joshua solely must be himself to dethrone IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on Saturday night time as a result of he’s a “100 occasions higher fighter” now than when he fought Wladimir Klitschko in 2017.
If Joshua is “100 occasions higher” now than seven years in the past, he ought to make simple work of Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs), so long as he doesn’t get chinned. Even when Joshua is a greater fighter technically, he’s nonetheless in his mid-30s and has had an extended profession.
Hearn attributes Joshua’s improvement to coach Ben Davison’s work since teaming up with him final December for his battle with Otto Wallin.
Because of the restricted opposition, we haven’t seen whether or not the enhancements Hearn talks about with Joshua are actual or imagined.
The 34-year-old Joshua has solely fought twice since including Davison as his coach. AJ beat Wallin and Francis Ngannou. These aren’t fairly top-tier competitions, and that may clarify why Joshua regarded so good.
“Simply be himself. He’s accomplished work. A incredible coaching workforce, ways, and we all know precisely what we bought to do,” mentioned Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing about what Anthony Joshua should do to defeat Daniel Dubois on Saturday.
“Whenever you watch again all these fights and the Klitschko battle, it virtually makes me chuckle a little bit bit about how far he’s bought with the precise data and skill that he had on the time,” Hearn continued about Joshua.
AJ’s stamina was higher when he fought Klitschko, and he was extra prepared to assault his opponents. Joshua is slower, older, and extra cautious now due to his age, chin points, and conditioning issues.
“He’s a 100 occasions higher fighter now than he was again then throughout. Footwork, protection, expertise, data, every part. Again then, it was simply pure coronary heart, rawness, and brute pressure. Now, he’s bought each attribute. The perfect heavyweight on this planet, and we’ll show it on Saturday night time,” mentioned Hearn.
The best way Joshua fights now wouldn’t work towards Wladimir as a result of he would battle at a gradual tempo, and that will have given the previous unified world champion loads of time to line him up with certainly one of his massive photographs.
“I do know precisely what I’m going to do. I’m not leaving it as much as anybody. I do know precisely what to do, and I’m going to do it, and I’ll do it,” mentioned Joshua.
AJ isn’t giving any hints about his sport plan for Saturday, however he’ll probably attempt to begin slowly to maintain from getting caught early by Dubois. Moreover Joshua’s battle with the one-fight novice Ngannou, Joshua had been knocking out his opponents no sooner than the fifth spherical within the final eight years since 2016.
