Eddie has been too busy up in Canelo's ring piece and has neglected his original cash cow AJ. The opponent sucks they should of gone with Hrgovic on paper he looks more dangerous but I think AJ has an easier time knocking him out than with a spoiler like Franklin. He should've had Dillian Whyte on the under card to start a build up for their inevitable rematch.
Won gold at the Olympics(argue all you want, the casual saw that he won). Started off his career KOing everyone. Had a fun war with Whyte. Beat Wlad. Won numerous titles. So how exactly was the exposed to the casual fan? They were all the way with him until this fight. Just look at the Usyk PPV and live gate numbers.
I know AJ's stock is enjoying a slight resurgence in the face of Fury failing to make a fight with Usyk, but let's not forget how grossly overrated he was, especially here in the UK. AJ's popularity was always quite fragile and largely propped up by the casual market who don't know who Takam or Parker were. The first fight I remember AJ getting some serious heat for was the Miller/Ruiz one and I think that is because people were expecting a showdown with Wilder, coupled with the fact Fury himself was making a comeback. Even then, it took AJ being humiliated by Ruiz and TWO Usyk defeats to shatter his popularity. I think AJ's popularity was fragile because everything hinged on everything. Yes, he was attractive and appealing to Deanos, women and kids, but he was also a CHAMPION, a WINNER and he was a knockout artist to boot. The moment he stopped getting knockouts, stopped winning and stopped being a champion, the interest began to wane. It didn't matter if your missus wanted him in your bed, he was seen as a loser, beltless and I think his breakdown (not necessarily his 2022 one, but more the gradual breakdown post-2019) showed him up as all style and no substance And that's it really. It's not the fact he lost, I don't think, as the boxing public is a bit more forgiving than we sometimes think. It was the fact he lost twice in humiliating fashion and couldn't live up to the insane levels of hype he had going When I think about it, Hearn is responsible for destroying AJ's career I think... but at the same time Hearn is also responsible for building AJ's career. I don't think any other promoter could've done it like Eddie did - and I say that as both a blessing and a curse I also think AJ benefitted from somewhat unique circumstances in the heavyweight division. Fury toppled Wlad but received no credit or fame for it, and bungled 2016 with his issues. The belts fragmented and went to weak champs. Eddie had a tight relationship with the IBF. Martin was willing to come to the UK. Wilder couldn't unify due to PBC being, well, PBC. The WBA was put on the line between AJ and the aforementioned Wlad. They had a classic at Wembley in which both were dropped. Then you've got the magic of Wilder-Fury1, the 12th round and their draw. I bash Fury hard on this forum because Fury's comeback was pure boxing magic to me. I know this sort of thing with a dominant champ (Wlad) being removed from the picture and the belts fragmenting has happened before in boxing of all shapes and sizes, but all of these things still had to happen in a precise order nonetheless for AJ to LIFT OFF In retrospect, AJmania 2016-2019 (I know the death knell was 2022, but the -mania sort of ended in 2019 one way or another) was an interesting time to be a boxing fan in Britain. I know Fury is more popular than AJ nowadays, but Furymania has never come close to AJmania at its peak. It was annoying to be sure, but I don't think what's going on right now is any better Fury-Wilder3 was a great fight and Usyk beating AJ at Tottenham was also a magical moment, but I do wish AJ and Fury had fought in 2021. It would've been a brilliant convergence of boxing storylines. Sadly, it didn't, and instead we got Fury-Chisora 3 on £30 PPV and AJ-Franklin. Oh dear, dear me...
I also want to add, in a few more words this time, it's not that AJ is bad or a bum or anything. He's STILL a top 5 heavyweight imo It's the fact his hype, here in Britain, was absurd. AJ surpassing Lennox was seen as a given at one point in time. Absolutely ridiculous
The olympcs is just a three round fight, he wa still a novice when he turned pro, his fight v Whyte was a mess, he made a ton of mistakes v Wlad too, you could clearly see Usyk had far too much experience for AJ.
Why does an elite boxer who fights once per year now need a tune up fight against a poor no name opponent? We all know it’s a minimum of 9 months until he gets back in the ring after this fight. Hearn must be involved in this plan, it’s too ******ed otherwise. Everyone wanted him to fight Wilder or the Whyte rematch. Why not just give the fans what they want? It’s not selling because this is AJ going back to fighting the level of opponent he was fighting prior to fighting Charles Martin in his nappy.
Because the bodybuilders been exposed as a fighter and as a person. He's lost all respect from any sensible person He's a fraudulent man, as a boxer and as a human being. The way he disrespected Usyk post fight was ridiculous and completely uncalled for. aj is a flawed design and he can retire knowing that
Is he struggling to sell tickets? Looking at the O2 website 90-95% of the seats are sold already. It will likely be sold out or close enough to it, you won't notice. Has his popularity dipped? Obviously that's the thing about some casual fans, some will just be glory hunters, but some will just be fans of Joshua as a celebrity and so will still buy tickets. He's still a big draw, probably still the biggest in the division and while he's down and out now he's already surpassed my expectations of him after he robbed Savon at the Olympics. Tony Yoka would give his left testicle for the career Joshua's had.