By Tim Parsons-
Humble WBA and IBF heavyweight champion, Anthony Joshua, says he is still a prospect and still has a way to go.
Joshua believes becoming the first heavyweight in history to hold all four world title belts would rank him with Mohammed Ali and Mike Tyson , and he is right to hold that view.
After his controversial victory against Carlos Takam in October, the unbeaten chiselled heavyweight is moving into unchartered territory. His handlers are negotiating a clash with either WBO king Joseph Parker and WBC champion Deontay Wilder- two fights that will seriously test his claim for greatness. Joshua dismantled feeble mandatory challenger, Birnade Stivens in one round on November 4th, and called Joshua out immediately after the fight. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearns has dismissed Wilder’s chances of beating his man, saying Joshua will ” beat Wilder seven days of the week, including twice on a Sunday .Words are cheap though, and Wilder, who has twice the experience of Joshua is a dangerous champion-holding the WBC title which would decorate Joshua’s other two titles if the Londoner can add it to his own
That will be no easy task because though Wild in his execution, Deontey Wilder is a big puncher who is lighter on his feet than Joshua and could crash Joshua’s dreams. Anthony Joshua is currently the hot cake of the sport having knocked out all 20 of his opponents, including former reigning champion, Wladimir Klitschko. However, beating a young Wilder or Joseph Parker may is a different proposition altogether. Joshua’s team and his many fans believe he can do it, but believing it and doing it are two different things.
‘[redacted] we have done something credible, tangible and we have the assets to prove it. I always say the proof is in the pudding,’ Joshua told Dubai Eye 103.8.
‘When I negotiate the fight, once it’s done, I’ll announce it. I don’t like to talk about “I’m this, I’m that” when I haven’t got it. So once I have it and I’m on the journey, say the fight is a week away, I’ll say: “I’m on the verge of mentioning my name alongside the greats like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. At the minute, I’m a prospect and I know what the future holds but I’ll just a keep a lid on it for now because we still have so far to go.”
Wilder still has affair way to go, especially as another unbeaten heavyweight, forced out of the sport due to mental health issues, and a drug test failure, is back in training, hoping to return in 2018. Fury was the first to beat Wladimir Klitschko in 11 years, and there are many who believe he will beat Joshua once he is fully fit and given the all clear to fight. Fury is very tall and huge, usually fighting at over 18 1/2 stones with his 6ft 9 inch frame. The gypsy warrior is also very mobile for a big man, unorthodox, with a strong fighting spirit. If he gets the all clear, it would add to the task facing Anthony Joshua because he will have two or three serious contenders he must beat to be the great champion he aspires to be. However, Joshua already appears to be preparing for the possibility of defeat, saying that losing will not spell the end of his career because all of boxing’s great once lost fights and came back.
“Once you reach an elite level in any sport, you’re going to meet stiff competition,” Joshua told UAE radio station Dubai Eye 103.8.
“At heavyweight, even the greatest of all time – Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, and Jack Johnson – have taken a loss at some stage
But if you lose that does not mean it is the end of you. It is how you come back from that.
“Most heavyweight champions are two or three-time world champions because they’ve achieved; made a mistake; and come back better. That’s just the way life is.
“Losing my unbeaten record will never hold me back from competition because I thrive off it and it makes you a better person in the long run.”
Joshua is right, but if he loses uncontroversially to either Wilder, Fury, or Parker, the buzz around will disappear, and all the cynics will pour in. It will be a lonely place for him until he comes back like Alipothetical comparisons to the greats of old theoretical until he actually does it. Like he says, the proof of the pudding will always be in the eating