Steve Wallbridge assesses the future for the British star…
The heavyweight division has come under a lot of criticism in recent years. For the last decade, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have dominated what used to be boxing’s most distinguished division.
When Lennox Lewis retired in 2004 he took with him an era of boxing legends. A production line of top fighters including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson ended.
There are, of course, two names post-2004 that must be included in any discussion that concerns boxing’s best heavyweights. For a decade, Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko have dominated the division, but the competition has been inferior to that which came before it.
Now, however, there is a new man on the scene who is bringing the excitement back to the heavyweight division. Anthony Joshua has made an explosive start to his professional career, with a record of 11 fights, 11 wins, and 11ko’s.
Nine of Joshua’s first ten opponents failed to make it past the second round and his eleventh, American Jason Gavern, became the second man to last until the third. Given Joshua’s size and physique, it’s no real surprise. He stands at 6ft 5inches and weighs in at just over 230lbs. He is a pure, born and bred heavyweight.
Joshua’s combination of speed and power has drawn praise from many people, including Wladimir Klitschko, who has tipped him to become a future world heavyweight champion. He has undoubted ability and an abundance of potential, but he’s in a difficult place at the moment.
Joshua is almost doing too well for his own good at this stage in his career. He doesn’t yet have the experience to go after the big boys in the division, but he’s also too good to be fighting nobodies that he’s putting away inside two or three rounds.
When watching his match with Gavern in April, it seemed that Joshua was taking it relatively easy in the first two rounds, just to get some ring time under his belt. The experience is needed, but how much is he benefiting fighting these guys?
His next fight has already been confirmed for May 9th in Birmingham, where he will face South American heavyweight champion Raphael Zumbano. Should he do to Zumbano what he’s done to his previous eleven victims, it will be clear that he needs a sterner test.
The next logical step would be to set up a fight between Joshua and David Price, who last year claimed that if he were put in a ring with Joshua, he would be looking to “take his head off his shoulders.”
This would provide a much more even fight for Joshua than we have seen before and would act as a litmus test to see if he has got what it takes. I think he has, and with Tyson Fury currently occupying top spot in the British rankings, I don’t think it will be too long before Joshua conquers the UK.
The biggest test in the division right now is Wladimir Klitschko, and I have no doubt that somewhere in the back of Joshua’s mind he’s thinking about the day he might step in the ring with him and attempt to take his world titles.
That potential fight, though, has an expiration date. At 39, Klitschko isn’t getting any younger, and Joshua has a fair way to go before he can start to think about getting in to the ring with the champ. The important thing right now is that he’s sparked interest in the heavyweight division and got people talking.