f you doubt the star power of former two-time heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua, all you have to do is take a look at the amount of the press AJ has been getting, and is getting, this as a man who has not fought in well over a year and was quite brutally knocked out when he did last set foot into a ring. Joshua has numerous articles out there on him right now, and they are focusing on the fact that he MIGHT fight again before the end of the year.
It’s clear to see that whatever you may think of Joshua and how much you feel he has left to offer the sport at age 36, he remains a huge star; one capable of getting more articles written about him than numerous active, they-have-an-actual-fight-coming-up ring warriors are afforded.
Is a No-Pressure Undercard Return the Right Move for AJ?
This week, Eddie Hearn says, a decision will definitely be made on whether or not AJ fights again before the year is out. Hearn has spoken of the very real possibility of Joshua boxing an eight-rounder on an undercard, this to allow AJ to come back with zero pressure and fanfare, this as he gets himself a confidence boost of a win ahead of next year’s planned “final chapter in the AJ story.”
Joshua could “literally just pop up on a show,” Hearn said when speaking with ESPN.
“We will make a decision this week in terms of if he will fight this year,” Hearn said of his most successful fighter. “We have to decide by this weekend basically. It doesn’t really matter where it is. You won’t know about it until maybe even fight week. Honestly. That’s the whole purpose of it. I think it would be so good for him but bizarre at the same time, because there’s no money in the fight. We are not going to start using him to sell tickets. Literally he will just pop up on a show. He’s really up for it. I think it would be so good for him. I’d love to see him go in there and just smash someone up.”
But aside from maybe getting rid of some ring rust and regaining some confidence, what would be gained from AJ blasting out – or “smashing up” – a lower-level, no threat fighter in a round or two? How the sport has changed. George Foreman, for example, came back after over a year after his crushing (to his psyche mostly) loss to Muhammad Ali, and he fought the fearsome Ron Lyle.
What Would a Safe Comeback Actually Prove — And To Whom?
Okay, Foreman had that bizarre event of his own beforehand (something that puts the idea of a former champ coming back with a nice safe one on an undercard firmly in the shade), this when he boxed five guys in one night in an exhibition, but even that would be seen as too risky for a modern day star like an AJ.
If Joshua does come back with a bang-out, quick and easy win, then what? The question we are all asking is, is Anthony Joshua still an elite fighter? Can AJ win another big fight during his planned “final chapter?” Why, to ask another question, does Joshua need such a non-testing confidence boost in the form of a fight with a veritable no-name fighter on somebody’s undercard? Are Joshua’s confidence and self-belief levels really so low at this point?
Maybe it’s just me, but I cannot see the point of it. Nor can I see what Joshua would gain from wiping a guy out in a short bout that would take place far down on some other fighter’s card.