Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Anthony Joshua should earn another title shot against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois by defeating one of the solid contenders, such as Martin Bakole or Tyson Fury, should he come out of retirement.
No more free passes
Journeyman Dillian Whyte and faded former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder are two names being mentioned as strong possibilities for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to fight next if ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury fails to lure him out of retirement by Turki Al-Sheikh.
The idea would be for Joshua to use Whyte, 36, or Wilder to rebuild his confidence and status in the boxing world before facing Dubois in a rematch this year. However, those two fighters are no longer relevant in the division today, and haven’t been for many years.
What Joshua needs is to beat one of these heavyweights to earn a title shot the way regular fighters do:
– Martin Bakole
– Agit Kabayel
– Zhilei Zhang
– Joseph Parker
– Moises Itauma
AJ’s credibility disappeared after his fifth-round knockout loss to Dubois last September 21st in London, and he needs to establish himself as a guy who deserves a shot at a world title. That’s how it’s done for normal fighters and it’s not fair that Joshua is given the opportunity to fight for the world title after defeating a washed-up Wilder or Whyte.
Meritocracy over star power
“Where Anthony Joshua is at the moment, put him with Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder in the next six. If he gets those two fights, give him a fight against (IBF heavyweight champion) Daniel Dubois if he wants a rematch or Tyson Fury,” Gareth A. Davies told talkSport Boxing about Anthony Joshua.
“Tyson Fury makes sense if he’s going to box again, but definitely Daniel Dubois. He’s the belt holder right now and he’s going in this direction (up) while Joshua is going in this direction (down),” said Adam Catterall. “He (AJ) has to win to earn the right to fight.
“There has to be a meritocracy about it. His profile needs to go out the window for a moment. Joshua needs to get a solid fight to get back into the game. I personally would like to see a Fury fight, and if it’s not Fury, I’d like to push him towards Martin Bakole. Why not? Bakole is the ultimate challenger, isn’t he?”
The way boxing is now, fighters who become pseudo-stars, like Joshua, don’t have to earn a title shot. They are given without having to work in the position because it is a job.
If you’re a heavyweight belt holder, you’ll fight Joshua because it means a big payday, but it makes boxing look more like a popularity contest than an actual sport. It can’t be a real sport if popular fighters don’t have to earn title shots like regular fighters.
“Bakole is the big favorite there at the moment, the big favourite,” Gareth said of how Bakole would be favored to beat the struggling 35-year-old Joshua.
AJ would now be fodder for Bakole if that fight happens, but at least if he took that fight, he would show that he believes in a title shot. Again, it would look bad for Joshua to get a rematch with Dubois after beating the 39-year-old Wilder or Whyte.
“Maybe so, but we are talking about the best against the best. Let’s go,” said Catterall.
