Anthony Joshua won’t be the “same entertaining fighter” he once was, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. The Matchroom Boxing honcho Hearn says former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) has adapted his fighting style as the long-reigning unified champ Wladimir Klitschko did late in his career.
The punishment that Joshua took in his grueling fight against Wladimir in 2017 and in his seventh-round knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr in their first fight in 2019 is the catalyst for AJ changing his style, becoming more of a boxer-puncher.
Although Joshua is still young at 33, his loss to Ruiz appears to have affected him mentally to where he doesn’t wish to go to war with his opponents like he had done in the first six years of his career.
Like turning on a light switch, Joshua can still brawl like he once did, but he chooses not to because he realizes now that fighting recklessly puts him in a position where he could get clipped again.
To be sure, the boxing public would prefer that Joshua fight like h once did, but if he returns to his former style of fighting, he’ll get knocked out occasionally, which he wants to avoid.
“He’s become better at things. I think he just realized you couldn’t fight like that and have a long, sustainable career,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social about Anthony Joshua.
“I don’t think ‘AJ’ will be the same entertaining fighter you saw in the Klitschko fight. I think you’re going to see more of a boxer.
“He does need to be more aggressive, but Wladimir Klitschko was the same. He got stopped early in his career and just became a smarter fighter,” said Hearn about Joshua.
Hearn is wrong. Joshua should still have a long career if he steamrolled his opponents like he once did, but he would lose occasionally. He doesn’t want that.
Joshua doesn’t possess the punch resistance or stamina to take a lot of punishment without getting knocked out. That’s a positive for AJ in terms of longevity. He either quickly scores a knockout, or he gets stopped himself. It’s exciting to watch, but Joshua doesn’t want to lose again, so he won’t return to how he previously fought.
Joshua will be fighting next in December against Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia. It’s going to be interesting to see if Joshua can outbox Wilder.
