Eddie Hearn insists that Anthony Joshua doesn’t possess a fragile chin heading into his fight against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on September 21st.
Web host Simon Jordan said this week that 34-year-old former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua’s chin is weak, and he could crumble if taken into the trenches by the 26-year-old Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) in their twelve-round headliner at Wembley Stadium in London.
Flashbacks to Past Battles
There’s some doubt whether Joshua will have flashbacks to the worst moments of his career, when Andy Ruiz, Wladimir Klitschko, and Oleksandr Usyk worked over him.
Jordan mentioned the possibility of Joshua having PTSD [Post Traumatic Distress Syndrome AKA Battle fatigue]. If that condition does exist, Joshua won’t last long on the battlefield against Dubois, who will be reigning shells on him and will not let him retreat to dive into a foxhole.
It looked to some like Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) suffered a mental breakdown following his loss to Usyk on August 20, 2022 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Hearn Dismisses “Fragile” Lab
“AJ has a really good chin. If you go back to the Klitschko fight, watch these shots that AJ took from Klitschko in round five,” said Eddie Hearn to Secondsout, denying that Anthony Joshua has a fragile chin.
The Klitschko fight was many years ago, on April 29, 2017. Joshua was just 27, going up against 41-year-old Wladimir. In that fight, Wladimir dropped Joshua hard in the sixth round, and he was so hurt that he didn’t recover for three rounds.
Most agree that Wladimir made a mistake by letting Joshua off the hook by failing to listen to his corner to go for the kill in rounds seven, eight and nine.
“Watch the right hand that would have decapitated a normal man that AJ got up from [in the sixth round and then gassed for the next three rounds]. In the Ruiz fight, he kept getting up,” said Hearn.
“Usyk hit him with the kitchen sink, and he never had him out. His legs were never gone. He was knackered at the end, but look what happened to Tyson Fury. You never saw AJ like that. He [Joshua] got hit hard by [Alexander] Povetkin, and obviously, he got hit hard by Dillian Whyte,” said Hearn.
Joshua’s Stamina and Chin: A Recurring Concern
In all the fights that Hearn mentions, Joshua could have been knocked out if his opponents had continued to unload on him. Usyk hurt Joshua in the twelfth round of their first fight in September 2021 but ran out of time to finish the job.
If there was 20 more seconds left in the twelfth, Usyk would have knocked out Joshua. Whyte gassed out after hurting Joshua in the second round and couldn’t get his second wind after that.
“AJ has got a great chin, but Daniel Dubois hits very hard and if you get hit on the chin by him, there’s a chance you’ll be in trouble,” said Hearn.
Surely, Hearn is intentionally being obtuse here because he’s got to know that Joshua doesn’t possess a “great chin,” and his stamina is just as poor. Joshua’s weaknesses have always been his glass chin and his horrible stamina.
Dubois’ Power: A Significant Threat
That’s why he’ll be easy pickings for Dubois if he lands something clean on him and or pushes a fast pace that his cardio can’t sustain.
“I don’t get the whole, ‘He’s fragile.’ He got hit hard by Franklin. I know he’s not a massive Puncher, but they can all punch. Franklin, Usyk, Povetkin, Parker, Ruiz. The list goes on. Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, he’s fought everybody. There’s nothing wrong with AJ’s chin, but these boys can all crack. If they hit clean, it’s going to be a problem,” said Hearn.
You wouldn’t expect Hearn to admit that his tin soldier Joshua doesn’t possess a great chin. What promoter would admit that his fighter is fragile and could break apart if hit too hard or taken into the trenches?
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