Boxing pundit Johnny Nelson believes the rebuilt “third version” of Anthony Joshua under trainer Ben Davison beats Oleksandr Usyk only five times out of 100.
Nelson doesn’t see enough improvements in the 34-year-old former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) to predict a different outcome if he faces two-time conqueror Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) in repeated fights.
Low-Level Opposition and False Rebuilding
With the low level of opposition that the “third version” Joshua has faced in his last four fights, you can’t say for sure that he’s improved. Any coach from the street could have trained Joshua to beat these four:
– Francis Ngannou
– Otto Wallin
– Roberto Helenius
– Jermaine Franklin
The match-making done for Joshua is trickery, a way to re-market an old product to the unsuspecting public and give the appearance of improvement. Joshua has not improved.
If the two win their next fights, Joshua could face Usyk in a third fight. AJ challenges IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois next month on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London. Usyk defends his three titles against Tyson Fury in a rematch on December 21st in Riyadh.
Joshua and Usyk will likely emerge victorious in those fights, which could set up a trilogy match. It would be up to His Excellency Turki Alalshikh and AJ’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, to decide if they want to set up a third Joshua vs. Usyk clash.
Hearn will likely resist the idea of Joshua fighting Usyk again and push Turki to match AJ against the twice-beaten Fury, hoping fans will ignore his recent loss to Usyk.
The ‘Factory Version’ Narrative Challenged
“The third version of AJ, the AJ we’ve seen in the last couple of fights, going in there with belief and self-confidence, will he have the same belief and self-confidence going in there with Usyk knowing this man has beaten him twice?” said boxing analyst Johnny Nelson to Secondsout, discussing whether the so-called improved version of Anthony Joshua would defeat unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in a trilogy match.
“Now, if that AJ turns up, it could be a different kettle of fish, but I don’t know. 100 times, AJ beats Usyk five and Usyk has got his number. AJ still has that chance, that ability to take him out, and that’s why he’s got a hope and desire to do that,” said Nelson.
Joshua’s confidence will likely evaporate when he gets in with Usyk because he has not improved. Thanks to Hearn’s magic tricks of false rebuilding, he’s been facing weak opposition.
Joshua has not been rebuilt. He’s gotten older and picked up bad habits due to the terrible opposition Hearn has fed him. If AJ fights in a wreckless manner against Usyk, as he showed against Wallin, Ngannou, and Helenius, he’ll get exposed again.
The narrative that AJ’s coach, Ben Davison, rebuilt Joshua in the 2013 factory version after he first turned pro is false. Nothing has changed with Joshua.
He’s not the fighter he was in 2013, shortly after his controversial gold medal win in the 2012 London Olympics when he was given a win against Italy’s Roberto Cammarelle.
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