By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua surprisingly accepted Tyson Fury’s invitation to fight in December.
Joshua (24-3, 22 KOs) took to social media today to accept WBC heavyweight champion Fury’s offer for a December fight after ‘The Gypsy King’ called him out twice.
Joshua’s move is likely to be made on his own without the involvement of his promoter Eddie Hearn as he wanted AJ to take an easy fit fight against a top 15 contender in December rather than a risky fight against Fury or one of the other heavyweights in the division.
Joshua, 32, is putting his career at serious risk by fighting Fury, having lost three of his last five fights, including the last two against the wily Oleksandr Usyk.
What Joshua has on his side against Fury is power, speed, and the ability to catch a guy easier to hit than his last opponent, Usyk. It was hard for Joshua to connect a lot of his shots against Usyk because he was so quick on his feet and he defended well.
If calm I don’t participate in online discussions just for influence, so if you’re really interested, yell @258mgt. I will be ready in December. Khalas https://t.co/kKCWdrlmol
— Anthony Joshua (@anthonyjoshua) September 5, 2022
Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) will be much easier for Joshua to nail than Usyk. The way Fury fights now, using a lot of tilts and fouling with rabbit punches, Joshua can deal with that style much better than he did with Usyk.
What Joshua has to worry about against Fury is gassing up in the second half of the fight, like he did in both of his matchups with Usyk. With the rage likely to be on Joshua’s face the entire time, leaning and fighting, it’s possible that it will run out faster against him.
If Joshua loses this fight, it would be his third loss in a row in the fourth of his last six. That’s pretty much the end of the road for Joshua if he’s defeated unless he’s willing to become an officer.
Hearn must be apoplectic over the news that Joshua accepted the offer because he cares so much about AJ and wants to save his career. The decision making that Joshua has been making has led to losses that he should not have.
If Joshua had stubbornly insisted on a rematch with Usyk, he could have prevented his loss last August. Also, it was a dumb idea for Joshua to use Andy Ruiz Jr. as his replacement opponent for Jarrell ‘Big Baby Miller.
