VIDEO: Is AJ finished?

i agree.

If he wants to fight, put him with Kabayel or Parker - talented guys with above average but not elite power.

Zhang and Bakole are too dangerous at the moment. Way too dangerous. Yes Joshua could beat them. But losing to a big puncher and going up vs more big punchers is a disaster. He needs at least one big win before fighting another puncher.

My guess? Dubois will wait for the winner of Fury-Usyk 2. Zhang might end up fighting Bakole in China if he lets go of the Parker rematch. This gives Joshua the option to rematch Parker or fight Kabayel.

While i would like AJ to retire for his health, if he wants to fight, fight Parker or Kabayel.

 

Expect to see him fight Jake Paul, David Haye and Gerald Washington on his next comeback, maybe stepping up to face his old mate Dereck Chisora or Dillian Whyte.
The new and improved Anthony Joshua.

 

The fact that he has now lost to 3 completely different styles, in his prime, IMO means that he may be done at the top, top level. That's very troubling. And every loss was a decisive one. Losing to Usyk can be forgiven, he is far and away the best of this era. But losing to Fat Andy, then being completely blown out by someone who has shown fragility multiple times, someone you were an overwhelming favorite to beat, and they just completely beat up and dominate you, I think the signs are there that this just isn't top level. There's a glaring achilles hill (chin and durability), and the HW division is a horrid place to have that type of achilles hill.

 

Yes he's mentally shagged

Bakole, Zhang, Dubious, Fury, Chisora, Usyk, Hurgovic, Nathan Gorman all chin him. Even Parker could beat him now if he gets stuck in and not run away like a fairy with that iron chin.

Time for AJ Whyte 2 but even that is a risk. He's always one shot away from going over and not recovering.

This golden goose is dead and rotting even Eddie Hearn wants rid of it.

 

Maybe a fight with Whyte or Wilder could sell, but it's still dangerous

I think any of the active top guys will be too much for him now. He has to get a solid win or 2 before he regains confidence

All trolling aside it took Aj quite a while to get back the confidence to trade post Ruiz. His losses to usyk didn't help. But that beatdown will have opened old wounds that I don't think can ever fully go away

Despite the loss on Saturday, he still has a huge market and I know fast eddie and his cronies will want to milk every penny. Joshua is a proud man and has an ego. Although I doubt he has the hunger he had, his ego will bring him back

If I was a fan, or more importantly a friend/family member? I would want him to retire. The dust has settled now, I don't need to lay the boot in. He can hold his head up high and be happy with what he has accomplished and the money earned

He may not go down as a legend of the sport, but if he steps down now rather than more humiliating defeats, he will be remembered as a very good, but limited champion who had some exciting big nights

Aj, I know you are reading this - nothing to prove, step down, enjoy your money and family and most importantly look after your health

 

The smartest gamble he could take, that would be worth taking and could get him back in the picture, would be a rematch with Parker.

 

Agree with everything, Rummy.

AJ will continue to fight until he needs a Walker because Hearn earns ££££ of his fights and he (AJ) is delusional enough to think he can compete against the best.

A rematch vs Dubois won't see the same result as AJ-Ruiz II because Dubois won't come in out of shape after months of eating burrito Grande and sopapilla dinners.

 

Ruiz took his soul in the first bout and finished him forever like Fury finished Wilder forever in the third fight.

 

He has lost some fights and that is going to be part of his legacy. Let’s not forget his achievements either though. He achieved a lot. And that’s part of his legacy as well.

The thing with Joshua is he seems to be afraid to fail. Which actually makes him fail. Everything about him oozes perfectionism. Which is also why he has had the success he has had ironically.

I would like to see him take on Fury and Zhang from here on. His legacy can be kind of like Chisora. The guy that did fight everyone and was in a lot of entertaining fights. Win or lose.

We got to give Joshua credit for that at least. He has been fighting a lot of quality opposition and he has entertained. Especially in the KO department he has done pretty good.

He is a little bit of a glass canon really. He can lose dramatically but when he wins he does it big and in style.

 

Personally I would like to see him retire. It wasn't just the loss to Dubois but the manner of defeat. Dubois made it look easy. Too easy. Full credit to Dubois.

Joshua's chin was never granite and at this point his chin cannot take even a half decent shot. At HW that's a killer. He's finished at the top level.

 

I personally think it's probably too much of a long hike back for AJ on the self confidence and mental rebuilding at this stage of his career. Certainly at top elite level, anyways.

His loss Saturday night was very, very definitive. He was saved by the bell twice as well, remember. He could have been blown out in the 1st round had Dubois caught him with that shot 20 seconds earlier than he did.

 

I personally think the biggest problem in all this is that AJ will become that safety first fighter again, a return to the fencing style we saw v Franklin is likely.

Personally I would put him in with a non puncher in the top 20 to up his confidence, someone like Franklin but not Franklin and then sit tight for the last fight of his career v Fury, hopefully for the lineal title he probably craves.

Fury is not a big hitter, so to me, that should be his last 2 fights and win or lose, an enormous pay day to finish on.

Putting Joshua in with any kind of puncher like Bakole, Hyrgovic, Zhang, Dubois would just be career suicide imo

 

Lol Nathan Gorman is a strange one, surely a 50 yo AJ would still beat him. No chin or power

 

I think he is and I'm saying this as a fan. He needs to fight Wilder for the emeritus belt and retire. Of course if Fury loses he can fight him as well.