I wouldn't call it was a crisis but I do think Hearn got too cocky and made a mistake by booking Wembley in advance, he basically painted himself into a corner by making that commitment, prospective opponents could use it as leverage in the negotiations knowing Joshua's next fight had to be in the UK, against a big name and be on a specific date which means they could push negotiations to a set deadline to pressure Hearn. Hearn in the end scrapped that date which of course will have cost him financially, but he didn't capitulate in negotiations and found another option for Joshua. The thing is Joshua always has options, this Miller fight is likely to give him a record payday with the money flooding US boxing right now it makes sense to go to the US now. I'm not sure if AJ's stock has gone down, more it's leveled off and he's reached his peak in terms of fame in the UK, hence why the move to the US makes sense. But Wilder and especially Fury's stock has definitely risen due to the first fight, it may not have been the financial success some hoped for but it's raised both fighters profiles to an unseen level, hopefully that transfers to PPV sales in the rematch. Not sure if Pulev will be next after Miller. There's always the outside chance that the winner of Fury/Wilder actually come to terms with Joshua for a unification fight.
I agree that Miller will be exposed but it doesn't undo all the other quality wins on Joshua's resume. I think the Miller fight will be a perfect debut opponent for Joshua in the US, Hearn has been prepping Miller for this for a while now. He had hoped Miller would of been WBA regular champion before it happened but Miller will be the perfect lamb for the slaughter, he'll smash Miller in a one side fight and he'll likely make a record payday doing it. Hardcore fans of course will deride the win and call Miller another bum who was exposed but casual boxing fans won't care, they'll see Joshua KO a big loud mouth 300lbs monster and love it.
What if Miller gets badly exposed and ends up like Charles Martin? I think there will be a lot of people that will blame Joshua that he took an easy fight like this..
I believe everyone already acknowledges this is an easy fight for AJ. People on here just want to see something new, a new fighter lose... they want to witness HOW Miller goes down.
Yep, I really agree with this. Instead of something like Miller + Pulev for 2019 ... it probably would have been a better option financially and legacy wise for Joshua/Hearn to have actually given Wilder then Fury (near) 50/50. The draw really set up a Wilder then Fury situation IMO. Not only would there have been big interest from boxing fans, but also plenty of coverage in the mainstream media. My guess is mainstream sports media isn't going to give too much of a f. about Joshua/Miller. Of course, that's assuming Joshua think's he would win Wilder, then Fury. Then again, a Miller/Wilder unification fight could be a big fight in the US.
Poor show by AJ. He will need a marketing miracle to recover from this, perhaps he can make it a non-title "staybusy" to justify it. Keep off the wee.d guys its bad for the brain long term. queue Beasty or mirko.
Agree about Miller. The fight is a mis-match. I don't think it downgrades Joshua's resume but it doesn't enhance it. The Miller fight is a stay busy while Fury/Wilder rematch is concluded. Then back to fighting the winner. Fingers crossed we get Joshua v Fury or Wilder at the end of the year.
These opponents to Anthony Joshua and his belts just don't seem very confident in beating him or they would give it a go. Spin it how ever you please but we've seen this scenario time and time again in this sport.
Twitter poll... really? I'm no Joshua fan but this is pretty wack to talk about if you're trying to be negative about him.
this is true, though theres nothin to actually expose about Miller. Hes basically a non title warm up staybusy, and even low standard for that.
Why is it wack? He is in touch with his fans, his fans follow him on twitter in the millions. He asked the fan what they want, they responded. And he was like...uhhh actually... option X = MIller Yeah thank for voting guys, don't forget to buy my PPV... you know I fight for you lot.
Joshua can get away with the odd easy fight now and again, like Takam and Miller but it can't be the norm, if he keeps picking the least dangerous option for financial reasons it will turn people off him even if it's because the more dangerous fighters have either priced themselves out or fought someone else. As for Martin, that fight is hard to be critical of as it was a title shot at a stage when most wouldn't of risked a title shot and Martin doesn't look so bad after going 12 rounds with Kownacki.