British heavyweight Anthony Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) twice in a row (No. 1 and No. 2) lost to Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 13 KOs) – he lost his WBA Super, IBF, WBO belts and, it seemed, for some time out of the championship race. But then came an unexpected offer to fight WBC champion compatriot Tyson Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs). Joshua agreed.
Fans and experts assessed the news differently: some believe that the third defeat in a row (and Joshua will be an obvious underdog) will finally bury the ex-champion’s career, while others believe that they do not refuse such an offer.
opinion shared the finalist World Boxing Super Series and ex-world champion Briton George Groves: “I think this is a great proposal. Listen, is an offer to fight for a world title, and even with a huge fee at stake, be bad? And what do you suggest? A year of beating opponents in order to achieve a title fight? And what is the point then, if the fight is already being offered now? What’s the point of waiting a year? Why not fight Fury right away?”
Groves believes it’s “a win-win situation for Joshua. It is to his advantage that he is considered an outright underdog – there is no pressure. He won – a hero, lost – OK, no one expected him to win. There is one more moment. And that’s the whole Fury thing. He then “retires”, then returns. Who knows, maybe now is the perfect moment to take him by surprise?
Former WBC champion Deontay Wilder’s coach says Fury is vulnerable and Joshua could beat him. And if Fury and Joshua don’t grow together, then the Chinese big man rushes into the ring with Anthony. Yesterday, Wilder suddenly admitted that he had previously avoided the fight with Joshua.
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