Hearn says Joshua won't fight again until 2026. Must have had more trouble getting a suitable heart donor than they expected.
I think he's almost done. We will be lucky if we get him in against Wilder, never mind another good run. Fury don't want it, so that's out. The division is poorer without him.
I think Joshua's career at the highest level is over. I think he'll have a comeback fight and then there'll be the Fury fight (or payday with Jake Paul).
Hearn was very keen on the Paul fight. Said the only way it won't happen is 'if Paul doesn't want it.' Eddie could already see the dollar signs there but Paul appears to have played them a treat.
With the announcement of the Paul-Davis farce, Hearn responded: “It’s very likely that AJ will fight in January or February now, probably against someone else.” It is already almost a year since Joshua last fought and February will be towards a year and a half. That's some elbow injury!
Yes, Hearn is a fox and knows there's a lot of money to be made with Paul, maybe they'll do it in 2026. Ultimately, it would be a shame if there wasn't a Fury-Joshua fight, two English world champions who were among the best heavyweights for years and fought in the same era. It definitely should have been organized earlier. Not living through a great era for heavyweights, I think ultimately the only thing that really captures my attention is knowing who Usyk's next opponent will be. Obviously, I'd watch a Fury-Joshua fight, but not a Joshua-Paul fight. Nothing against Jake Paul, he legitimately serves his own interests, but for me, real boxing is something else.
Hearn is a very rich man but for the right price he would still sell his own grandmother. I am no Jake Paul fan but credit where it is due, he identified there are enough gullible people in the world to make him mega rich and he is taking it to the bank.
I completely agree with you. Hearn knows how to do business without regard for anyone (and I think AJ should thank him for that, Hearn managed to sell him very well). And Jake Paul is very good at making money off his popularity. I don't watch his fights, but I have nothing against him. More than anything, I think the boxing world needs to ask itself why a 30 year old fighter like Davis would prefer to fight Jake Paul over Stevenson. Money wise, of course, but this is where I think boxing needs to find solutions. That is, it needs to ensure that it's more advantageous for a strong 30 year old fighter to face Stevenson than Jake Paul in an exhibition match.
AJ deserves to cash out and I don't blame him for waiting for the right fight/circumstances. He knows he's basically done at top level, and while that doesn't rule him out of picking up another belt or beating serious contenders he hasn't got another run at the top in him.
Joshua expected an easy path and a fight with someone from the top, he wasn't given that, so now he doesn't want to fight at all, his career is over...
I was quite supportive of Joshua recently but I agree with most of his detractors, he seems to be done at the high level. Very disappointing end of career.
Agreed he's pretty much at the end. I am surprised he hasn't been out yet or at least got a fight scheduled, injury not withstanding, as he's spoken publicly about his career winding down. Perhaps he is waiting for 'the right' opponent to surface. But I honestly don't think it will be Fury. Fury' s not really got the track record of facing necessary opposition - and I never thought he would start now
There are far and away more casuals than there are hardcore boxing fans and if a circus level event is sold well to the casuals it makes big bucks. I don't think there's any way of curing that.
Joshua's elbow injury would have healed up months ago. That's not the reason he hasn't fought yet. It is nearly 12 months since his last fight and he hasn't even got one lined up.
I know but I hope they can find him, even though I realize it's very difficult. I know casual fans who only follow events with big names but not Jack Paul fights, and then there are the ones you mentioned, and they're certainly a significant number, otherwise certain events wouldn't sell as well as they do. The era we live in, with so much social media exposure, really helps people like Jake Paul. When someone like Gervonta faces him instead of Stevenson (the same thing would happen if Joshua preferred to fight Paul instead of Fury), I think it's a defeat for boxing (real boxing).
