Anthony Joshua should have to earn another title shot against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois by beating one of the strong contenders, like Martin Bakole or Tyson Fury, if he comes out of retirement.
No more free passes
Journeyman Dillian Whyte and former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder are two names who have been mentioned as strong possibilities for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to fight next if ‘The Gypsy King’ Fury can’t being lured out of retirement. by Turki Al-Sheikh.
The idea would be for Joshua to use Whyte, 36, or Wilder to rebuild his confidence and status in the boxing world before facing Dubois in a rematch this year. However, these two fighters are no longer relevant in the division today and haven’t been for many years.
What Joshua needs is to beat one of these heavyweights to earn a title shot, like regular fighters do:
– Martin Bakole
– Agit Kabayel
–Zhilei Zhang
-Joseph Parker
– Moses Itauma
AJ’s credibility disappeared after his fifth-round knockout loss to Dubois last year on September 21 in London, and he needs to establish himself as a guy deserving of a world title shot. That’s how it goes for normal fighters, and it’s not fair that Joshua gets the chance to fight for a world title after beating Wilder or Whyte failed.
Meritocracy rather than star power
“Where Anthony Joshua is right now, put him with Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder in the next six. If he wins those two fights, then give him a fight against (IBF heavyweight champion) Daniel Dubois if he wants the rematch or against Tyson Fury,” Gareth A. Davies told talkSport Boxing about Anthony Joshua.
“Tyson Fury makes sense if he has to box again, but definitely Daniel Dubois. He’s the belt holder right now, and he’s going this way (up), while Joshua is coming this way (down),” Adam Catterall said. “He (AJ) has to win to earn the right to fight.
“There has to be a meritocracy about this. His profile should disappear out the window for a second. Joshua needs to win a solid fight to get back into the mix. Personally, I’d like to see Fury fight, and if it’s not Fury, I’d like to push him towards Martin Bakole. Why not? Bakole is a top challenger, right?
In the current state of boxing, fighters who become pseudo-stars, like Joshua, don’t need to win titles. They are given without the need for access to the position, because it is a business matter.
If you’re a heavyweight belt holder, you’ll fight Joshua because it means a big payday, but that makes boxing seem more like a popularity contest than a real sport. It can’t be a real sport if popular fighters don’t have to win titles like regular fighters.
“Bakole is a big favorite there at the moment, a big favourite,” Gareth said of how Bakole would be favored to beat the struggling Joshua, 35.
AJ would be fodder for Bakole right now if this fight happened, but at least if he took this fight he would show that he believes in trying to earn a title shot. Again, it would look bad if Joshua got a rematch against Dubois after beating Wilder or the 39-year-old Whyte.
“Maybe so, but we’re talking about the best against the best. Let’s go,” Catterall said.