Promoter Eddie Hearn says Anthony Joshua’s punch resistance is not gone after his one-sided fifth round knockout loss to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois on September 21st.
Fans and the media have been calling for Joshua’s retirement, feeling that the 34-year-old can no longer take a decent punch without hitting the deck. They want Joshua to call it a day before he gets seriously hurt and can’t enjoy his massive $200+ million fortune.
The way Joshua was dropped, he looked like a yo-yo on a string, being toyed with by a young kid. AJ was down repeatedly on the canvas, and had no ability to stay on his feet. The fight should have been over in the third round when the referee appeared to wave it off.
If Joshua wants to stick around to collect $100+ million fighting Tyson Fury, that’s understandable, and you can’t fault him for that. But he needs to stay away from Dubois permanently, as well as other big punchers like Martin Bakole.
Hearn feels that the right hand that Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) hit AJ with in round one would have knocked out any heavyweight in the division. The right hand that Dubois hit Joshua with wouldn’t have done the same thing to every heavyweight. Filip Hrgovic and Oleksandr Usyk were both hit with similar right hands from Dubois, and they took the shots.
Hearn Says AJ’s Punch Resistance Still Intact
“I think if his punch resistance was gone, he wouldn’t have got up from the first knockdown. It was a huge right hand that would have put most heavyweights to sleep,” said Eddie Hearn to Secondsout, reacting to being told that the media are saying that Anthony Joshua’s punch resistance is gone after his loss to Daniel Dubois.
The reason Joshua wasn’t knocked out in round one is because Dubois dropped him in the closing seconds. If that had happened earlier in the round, Dubois would have finished him.
“Daniel Dubois is a huge puncher, and hit Joshua with the kitchen sink for three rounds and couldn’t put him away. Unfortunately, when he got back in the fight, he walked into a monster while he was trading, and he couldn’t get up from that one,” said Hearn.
When Joshua chose to fight aggressively in round five, it was obvious that he was going to be knocked out. Instead of being defensive, as he’d been in rounds one through four, Joshua put his chin at risk in the fifth, and that made things easy for Dubois to finish him.
“So, I don’t believe that. I know sparring is sparring, but no problems with his chin,” said Hearn. “I don’t think there ever has been, but when you’re in with big punchers, you can get hurt. We’ve seen many great heavyweights get hurt. Look at Tyson Fury. Usyk is not even a puncher.”
First, Joshua is not a “great heavyweight,” nor is Tyson Fury. Secondly, Fury’s chin hasn’t been the same since his third fight with Deontay Wilder, but he hadn’t fought anyone even remotely good since their third clash in 2021.
Fury had fought a couple of British journeymen, Derek Chisora and Dillian Whyte, before facing Oleksandr Usyk last May. The end result was Fury getting beaten up by Usyk, and he would have been knocked out in the ninth round if not for the referee, who saved him with a standing eight count.
“Tyson Fury was out on his feet, getting battered around the ring. It’s just heavyweight boxing,” said Hearn about Fury’s fight with Usyk. “This is just what happens. I’m very confident. Now, the big decision will be whether we take the rematch or not.”
The way that Hearn is talking, it seems obvious that he wants nothing to do with Joshua fighting Dubois again. He’s not going to be the one that puts his head on the chopping block for the fans by owning the decision to fight Dubois.
“One minute you’re a hero, and the next minute, it’s all your fault,” said Hearn about the criticism Joshua’s coach, Ben Davison, is receiving from fans and the media. “When you set up an uppercut, you don’t throw it with your left hand by your hip. You do it off a jab.”
There’s no reason why Ben Davison should have ever been a “hero” for Joshua, given that the four fights that he trained AJ were all rebuilding ones against these lower-level fighters:
– Francis Ngannou
– Otto Wallin
– Roberto Helenius
– Jermaine Franklin
“This was just AJ on instinct, buzzed Dubois and tried to close the show, and he threw an uppercut from a technique perspective, all wrong, and walked onto a right hand,” said Hearn, protecting Ben Davison by blaming Joshua for his knockout rather than his coach, who told him to throw the uppercut. “At that moment, when you start to find your way back into the fight, you have to roll the dice.”
Hearn doesn’t need to whitewash Ben’s faulty instructions by putting it on Joshua for using poor form in throwing the uppercut. Joshua didn’t need to roll the dice in the fifth. He should have boxed and set Dubois up for an overhand right at some point.
“He [Joshua] doesn’t have much left in the tank at that point. So, when he sees an opponent, of course, he’s going to go for it,” said Hearn. “Listen, maybe he should have broken him down over seven, eight, nine rounds. It’s very difficult when you’re in the moment and you see an opportunity, you got to take it.
“He was showing great form going into that fight,” Hearn said about Joshua. “Rob McCracken is one of the best trainers in the world, and they had a great relationship.
“AJ felt he needed to evolve more as a fighter. I think he’s added a huge amount to his game since then, but Rob was a brilliant part of his career, and there was a great amount of trust there as well. So, Rob was an incredible asset for AJ,” said Hearn.
Ben Davison Needs to be Sacked
Joshua should consider firing Ben Davison and teaming up with Rob McCracken again because there needs to be a change. Davison was the captain of Joshua’s ship, and he came up with the faulty battle plans.
He let AJ into the massacre at Wembley and he should be court drummed out of the corp for his failure. If this were the military, Ben would have to meet with his superiors, and a court-martial might be in order.
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