Anthony Joshua and the Heavyweights – The Sky is the Limit!

By Roy “Sharpshooter” Bennett

There is a reason boxing promoter Eddie Hearn seems to have a permanent smile etched on his face nowadays. If you’re wondering what it is look no further than London heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua. With his impressive recent knockout victory over old amateur rival Dillian Whyte Joshua’s stock went through the proverbial roof. Hearn has every reason to be pleased. There are exciting times ahead in the heavyweight division and he may be in the rather enviable position of promoting it’s future king.

Any prospect worth his weight has to have certain questions asked about himself against a live opponent hell bent on giving him his first loss. Overprotected fighters on the way up tend to get found out by teak tough journeymen and lower ranked fringe contenders who still carry their fighting pride and ambition like gunslingers for hire back in the old wild west. This is where some managers make a crucial mistake. The history of the sport is littered with the broken dreams of once promising prospects with glittering records who were thrown to the lions before they were truly ready for it. Despite Eddie Hearn’s boast that Joshua is already, “The best heavyweight in the world,” he will be careful not make the same mistake.Underneath the glowing platitudes Hearn will be quietly relieved that his Olympic gold medal winning blue chip prospect came through his first real test as a professional with flying colors and without suffering any visible damage.

In a bad tempered heavyweight brawl at the O2 arena in London, England, Joshua, 15-0, 15 KO’s, and Whyte, 16-1, 13 KO’s, waged a personal war for British bragging rights and a ticket to the big time. Joshua proved himself equal to the task at hand knocking Whyte out with a bomb of a right uppercut which left Jamaican semi conscious and half draped over the bottom rope at 1 minute 27 seconds of the seventh round.

Having never previously been beyond the third frame Joshua proved he could continue to fight well going into the second half of a championship contest and recover from taking a good punch. In the second round Whyte shook him with a counter left hook to the chin causing his knees to dip and for a moment he looked unsteady on his feet. Whyte stormed forward to press his momentary advantage but he couldn’t make it pay dividends as Joshua dropped his chin and covered up behind a high guard until his head cleared. It was a telling moment and a turning point in the fight. Joshua took control of the bout thereafter administering a progressively steady beating to his arch rival in each subsequent round until he lowered the boom in the seventh.

And what of Whyte? After overreacting to a late shot from Joshua after the bell at the end of the first round – and starting an extra punch up that wasn’t in anybody’s official program – he fought his heart out. He showed great resilience in taking some big punches flush on the chin as the fight wore on and he sunk some thudding body shots into the pit of Joshua’s stomach late in the bout. But you have to question a boxer’s conditioning when he fights with his mouth open and appears to be gasping for air as early as the second round. If Whyte is to bounce back from this defeat, and the manner of it, he will have to address this shortcoming in his fitness preparation lest he find himself in the same predicament again – deep in a fight with a gas tank running close to empty.

For Anthony Joshua and his growing legion of supporters the sky is now the limit. Talk of a world title opportunity in 2016 abound but these forecasts may be somewhat premature. While Joshua’s performance was impressive he is still very much a work in progress. He could have used his jab more to control distance and didn’t move his head enough. Body punching was conspicuous by its absence and I think he’s put on too much muscle. The extra bulk is beginning to impede his fluidity. Still, he passed a major test on the big stage and came out of a potentially dangerous fight unscathed. In the process he picked up the vacant British heavyweight title and something called the World Boxing Council silver heavyweight championship, both of which he can add to his Commonwealth heavyweight title. Greener pastures beckon but there are ominous storm clouds on the horizon.

Bet your bottom dollar lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, WBC titleholder and heavy hitter Deontay Wilder, big punching New Zealand prospect Jason Parker, and Australian hard man Lucas Browne, among others, are watching developments closely. Britain’s David Haye, 26-2, 24 KO’s, has also recently returned to the reckoning after a protracted absence due to a shoulder injury and a frustrating on-again-off-again retirement. If Eddie Hearn wants to protect his investment he would be wise to give the aforementioned boxers a wide berth until at least the end of 2016.

Old footage of Haye giving Wilder a shellacking in sparring recently resurfaced and one wonders if it is being used to give Haye’s return some legitimacy since Wilder is now a champion. Wilder has gone on to bigger and better things during Haye’s three year hiatus and has improved his overall game. But the level of his opposition leads some to believe that his handlers are afraid to risk putting their fighter in with a genuine top ranked contender. Step aside money has been paid on more than one occasion to allow Wilder to fight in voluntary defenses against nondescript opposition. Russia’s Alexander Povetkin, 30-1, 22 KO’s,

Wilder’s mandatory contender, has once again agreed to allow him to take another voluntary contest. Poland’s Artur Szpilka, 20-1, 15 KO’s, has been lined up as Wilder’s next sacrificial lamb. I mean no disrespect to Szpilka in saying so. He has already been soundly beaten and subsequently knocked out by the Philadelphian Bryant Jennings. If the form book is anything to go by the polish heavyweight will do well to make it into the second half of the contest.

So where does Anthony Joshua go from here? The focus should be on harder fights which allow him to sharpen skills against various styles of boxers while being able to put rounds in the bank. Britain’s Dereck Chisora, 24-5, 16 KO’s, Finland’s Robert Helenius, 21-0, 13 KO’s, and America’s Chris Arreola, 37-4-1, 31 KO’s, – all recent winners in their previous bouts – may find themselves in the running as possible future opponents for Joshua after his next scheduled contest in April 2016.

Below lineal champion Tyson Fury the heavyweight pack are jostling amongst themselves like hungry wolves for first bite at the new titleholder – who they perceive to be very beatable – should he get past Wladimir Klitschko a second time in their rematch. Even if Klitschko manages to avenge his defeat the damage to his reputation and aura is already done. Like an emperor who has shown signs of weakness to his enemies, future challengers darkening the doorstep will be emboldened with a grim determination to wreak maximum havoc on his psychological and physical person once the bell rings.

As the new kid on the block Anthony Joshua may very well prove to be everything Eddie Hearn says he is. But the Londoner will have to prove it in the ring. Time will tell, on the back of Joshua’s showing against Whyte, whether Hearn is indeed the holder of the golden heavyweight ticket.

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