Eddie Hearn has been so busy talking up a fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury for 2021 that he’s completely left out the possibility that AJ could lose tonight against challenger Kubrat Pulev.
If that happens, it’s going to throw off the big plans the Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn has for Joshua to make massive money against fellow Brit Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) in unification in early 2021.
As of Friday, Hearn was still talking about his plans to match IBF/WBA/WBO Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) against Fury straightaway next year. It’s as if Hearn is already counting the Pulev (28-1, 14 KOs) fight as a win in the bag, which could prove to be a fatal mistake.
With Joshua’s chin problem, he could very well lose to the 39-year-old Pulev tonight, which would put him in the position where he would need to decide whether to chance-it in a rematch or move on.
While Joshua showed that he could avenge his loss to Andy Ruiz Jr last year, that was against an obese fighter who failed to take his training seriously after hitting the lottery with his 7th round knockout of AJ earlier in the year.
If Joshua loses to Pulev tonight, he’d be putting his career at great risk by facing the big 6’4 1/2″ Bulgarian a second time.
Joshua couldn’t count on Pulev living it up, stuffing his face with rich foods, partying, and blowing off training sessions with his coach in a rematch.
Unlike Ruiz, Pulev is a fighter that takes his training and preparation for fights seriously, and he’s not going to come into the rematch with Joshua too fat to chase him down.
“I am still not 100 percent sure if Joshua has fully recovered from his first loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. I need to see a good performance,” said Carl Froch to Sky Sports.”If he loses to Pulev, his confidence is going to be totally shattered.
“Of course, he can come again, he’s young enough, but it would put a shadow over the Tyson Fury fight. I’m not even thinking about defeat as an option,” said Froch.
Obviously, the logical thing for Joshua to do would be for him to fight Pulev again, but that could result in AJ’s Waterloo. Pulev may route him the second time and send his career down the tubes.
Joshua’s loyal boxing fans were pleased to see him avenge his loss to Ruiz Jr last year in December 2019 in Saudi Arabia, but what they fail to realize is how frightened the 6’6″ giant looked the entire fight.
It wasn’t the Joshua that we once knew, as he looked like a timid, mentally fragile imposter, who wasn’t the guy that had mostly bulldozed his first 20 opponents in his professional career.
If Joshua loses tonight against Pulev, this writer thinks he should forget about facing him again in a rematch. There will be too much for Joshua to fight Pulev a second time because his career would literally be on the line in a rematch.
There would be no coming back from another deal, no matter what his clever promoter Hearn might say. It would be better for Joshua to go back to taking on guys that are more flawed and not a threat to him.
With Joshua’s huge following in the UK, his British boxing fans will circle their wagons around him, giving him support as he goes into a rebuilding phase with his career.
Joshua can still make bundles of money facing lesser opposition in stadium fights, and he’s already proven that throughout his career.
What I would like to see is Joshua take a year or so fighting guys that will help him mentally get back his bearings and bring him back to the fighter he used to be before he ran into Pulev and Ruiz Jr.
Good options for rebuilding Joshua:
- Michael Hunter
- Martin Bakole
- Zhilei Zhang
- Agit Kabayel
- Otto Wallin
“I want AJ to win so bad, to go in there and do the business and look good doing it,” said Froch.