On the night of Saturday August 12 to Sunday August 13, Anthony Joshua remembered his finest hours by inflicting a clear and flawless knockout on Robert Hellenius in the seventh round. What to regain the hair of the beast after a very difficult period. And hope to do well in a duel against Deontay Wilder?
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What if Anthony Joshua was in the process of rebuilding his health, and above all his reputation? On the night of Saturday August 12 to Sunday August 13, “AJ” inflicted a terrible knockout on Robert Hellenius, in his garden at the O2 Arena in London. Facing the Finn, not the sharpest since he replaced at short notice a Dilian Whyte caught by the anti-doping patrol, he won with a clear knockout, following a very heavy and powerful rear arm. What had not happened to him since… 2020 and his duel against Kubrat Pulev.
The constant forward movement, the absence of fear of taking blows and the generosity in the distribution of these have long been Joshua’s identity. However, it has been a long time since the Englishman showed his firepower. Since his surprise loss to Andy Ruiz in 2019, AJ has struggled to regain his aggressive boxing.
A touched mind
The two debacles against Oleksandr Usyk had finished reaching his mind. Witness his very strange reactions after the last of the two defeats, in Saudi Arabia. The Watford native threw the Ukrainian’s championship belts out of the ring and then exploded in rage. Held back by members of his staff, he headed for the locker room, furious, under the whistles of the still full room… before returning to shake hands with his opponent and ask him, under the eyes of the cameras: “ You are not strong! How did you beat me? I had character and determination “.
Then, he took the microphone so that each spectator could hear a mix between the story of his personal story, congratulations for his opponent of the evening and a clumsy condemnation of the war in Ukraine, under the eyes of a visibly very uncomfortable.
Since this episode, Joshua won by unanimous decision against Jermaine Franlin Jr, in a fight not really flamboyant. ” VSn evening, I felt much better than in April (against Frankin)”, delivered Joshua after his victory of this night. The second in as many appearances in the ring under the leadership of his new trainer, Derrick James.
The fact remains that a few boos from the spans of the London stadium, after the first rounds were too calm for the taste of the public, are the stigmata of a popularity that has taken a hit in recent years. Disgruntled spectators to whom the person concerned responded coldly at a press conference: ” Have they ever boxed? »
Objective Wilder, is the step too high?
Malik Scott, Deontay Wilder’s trainer, has already revealed that the fight against Joshua is “in the box” for next January. The ways of boxing and matchmaking being impenetrable, very clever who knows if the two men will actually cross swords. Even if the duel seems most obvious. The two men are among the biggest punchers of their category, a confrontation would inevitably make sparks.
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The question remains whether Joshua still has the shoulders for such a summit. Wilder has only been defeated twice in his career, to Tyson Fury, who he’s been the only one to really stand up to recently. Above all, he has just come out of a monumental victory against … Robert Hellenius by KO in the first round. Faced with a man like Wilder, who has lightning in his fists (43 wins, 42 KO), boxing with the brake, as Joshua has been able to do in recent years, and letting the American install his game, could be fatal.