Will he hold a title again? Time and opportunity will tell Can he? Yes Does he want to have to fight himself into contention for a title? I am not so sure.
"he's been brilliant (to quote Rob McCracken)" I believe that was AJ's "positivity" guru "Joby Clayton" lol
In my opinion he was never anything special. Made into a boxer, not a natural at the sport. Flat footed and robotic. Chin was very questionable. I'll be surprised if he holds another strap above his head. I think if he's really honest with himself, he doesn't want this anymore.
He can win a strap again but only if he comes to terms with the possibility of losing a few times more; and I'm not sure he's on that page. By that I mean, trying to outbox top fighters based on a cautious 12-round gameplan is not going to work out for him, considering his suspect gas tank which will only get worse as he enters his mid-30s. But if he's prepared to go at fighters from the first bell and keep up that high-intensity for 5-6 rounds; and risk being KO'd I think he can still stop any of the current HWs not called Usyk. But that might mean taking a couple of losses before hitting the jackpot. Maybe even the kind of glued-to-the-canvas KOs he's so far avoided. I'm just not sure he's got that dog in him any more...
The empirical evidence shows that fast twitch 17.5 stone Joshua is gassed after 0.5-1 round of letting his hands go: Klitschko (dropped Klitschko but gassed halfway through the 5th, didn't find a 2nd wind until the 11th) Pulev (dropped Pulev but gassed at the end of the 3rd, sharp drop in activity for the next 3 rounds) Usyk (threw the kitchen sink at Usyk in the 9th with limited success, clearly lost 10, 11 and 12). So I don't know where these "5-6 high-intensity rounds" are coming from, nor Joshua's newfound willingness to seriously risk getting knocked senseless.
Joshua could turn into the next Chisora and still be punching for pay at 40 years old after 10+ losses, If the casuals will pay to see him he will fight, Chisora has been shot to bits for years and is still headlining PPV's. This is the reason boxing is in the sorry state it is in and people keep ducking each other, because the casuals accept sub standard product for inflated prices.
At this point I say Fury, Usyk and Wilder all beat AJ, so IMO it will take a fracturing of the belts and possibly some retirements before we see AJ with a belt again. I'd like to see him fighting for belts though.
Well the best way to get rid of the demons that back to back defeats can cause is to go out and win a fight. He needs a winnable fight to shake off his malaise and get his mojo back. Preferably a fight against a decent but limited fighter where he can go a few rounds before winning a TKO/KO. After that he would feel a whole lot better mentally, then he can assess properly what’s next in terms of belt chasing.
Based on his in ring record there should be no question. He's faced a bunch of tough competitors (mostly past peak, admittedly), lost occasionally but always coming back. Somehow he's invited these questions by a lot of strange antics in what were softball interview situations. Imagine if he told people "Usyk showed me a higher level so I'm in the gym chasing it." Everyone would be saying "oh **** AJ is gonna come back and KO everyone." The problem is this hollowed out crop of HWs below them aren't making moves. There shouldn't be PPVs lying around for Chisora to headline. Hrgovic, Hunter, and Miller should be battling it out at the top and pushing Fury, Wilder, and AJ off the stage (to say nothing of a guy like Chisora). But with that not happening, there is money lying around and these older guys are going to keep picking it up.
The power is always the last thing to go. I’d say yes AJ can definitely win another world title, he’s still a live dog against usyk, fury, wilder. I see him challenging again in 2023 I reckon he retires late 2024 and can see him moving into the promoting side of things
