Barry McGuigan doesn’t think it’s a good idea to see Anthony Joshua again. Not in a rematch with Daniel Dubois. Not in the ring with anyone else.
“AJ should retire,” McGuigan, a former lineal featherweight champion who went on to become a promoter, tweeted on Sunday. “His punch resistance has evaporated and he will destroy his previous achievements by carrying on. […] When your ability to hold a shot goes, it never comes back. Time for AJ to exit.”
That may seem like a harsh conclusion given the reality of heavyweight fighting, where one punch can truly change or end a fight. Joshua was stopped by Andy Ruiz in June 2019 but came back, boxing his way to a victory in their rematch, albeit in an incredibly cautious fashion. Joshua went on to knock out Kubrat Pulev before losing a pair of decisions to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022. In the time since, Joshua outpointed Jermaine Franklin Jr. and stopped Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
Other heavyweights have come back from demoralizing knockout losses, most notably Lennox Lewis avenging his defeats to Oliver McCall and Hasim Rahman.
Joshua has a rematch clause, even though he was the challenger for Dubois’ IBF title, likely recognizing the sheer drawing power that the 2012 Olympic gold medalist brought to the table.
But after the four knockdowns Joshua suffered in five rounds on Saturday at Wembley Stadium, McGuigan doesn’t think that AJ should exercise his right to a rematch.
“He’ll get knocked out again,” McGuigan said, “and next time it won’t take five rounds.”
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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