The Briton’s bid to be the No 1 heavyweight of his era has now gone – but he remains a captivating prize fighter and huge commodity
Anthony Joshua has admitted openly that he is “a perfectionist” yet there has always been the nagging doubt, perhaps both in himself and from his critics, that he came to the sport too late. That his pugilistic education was incomplete, fast-tracked. And that, at some point in his journey at the elite level, his limitations may be exposed, and he would be found wanting.
That moment has arrived. Not for failure or lack of endeavour, but because skills separate the very good from the great in sport, and without question in boxing.
After just 36 fights as an amateur and four years in the sport, Joshua won Olympic super-heavyweight gold in his home city at the London Games in 2012. That was an ideal start and perfect launch pad for a professional career. But the physical behemoth may have become a victim of his own success.
The old adage that styles make fights in boxing remains one of the sport’s truisms and with his physique, and manner of fighting, Joshua’s rapid elevation to world champion after just 16 fights in 2016 meant that if he were not able to adjust, adapt and have natural boxing IQ in abundance, a time would come when he could be unravelled by the very best.
Make no mistake, Joshua is a phenomenal fighter and athlete, but in the most nuanced arts of ‘hit and not be hit’ there was always the risk that ‘AJ’ might be undone by the elite-level fighters when he reached the very pinnacle. It was not about getting there; but staying at the summit of the sport.
Success came fast for him, and ultimately, in spite of staggering glory, wealth, and accolades, Joshua has been cruelly exposed by the brilliance, twice, of the masterful Oleksandr Usyk, with his circus skills, vast amateur experience (350 contests with 335 wins) and whose trajectory and heritage bears stark comparison with the bigger, heavier man he has bemused twice.
The kind of vast experience that no commercial investment can buy. Boxing is an art, as well as a mindset, and Usyk has been boxing for 25 years, came through the Olympic system in his homeland, and also won gold in London. He was always going to be the trickiest fight – stylistically – for Joshua. And his nemesis from Ukraine was tracking and stalking the Briton for a long time.
Back to styles often dictating the victor, and one of the reasons Tyson Fury is favoured to be another enigma for Joshua goes back to his involvement in boxing from childhood and 10 generations of bare-knuckle boxers, on both maternal and paternal sides.
Joshua brought up his lack of amateur experience in a quiet huddle at the post-fight press conference, almost with resignation in his voice. It might have explained, in some way, the outburst in the ring and the emotion when speaking post-fight to the media: the realisation that what he wants to touch – albeit much of what he has put his hands to has turned to gold – may never quite be within his grasp.
So where does Joshua go from here, with his huge physicality, the clear improvements he displayed in the Usyk rematch, and desire to battle opponents head-on ? He remains a captivating prize fighter, a huge commodity, with major nights ahead against Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, Joe Joyce and possibly even Tyson Fury.
A year ago, we might recall, the two were set to meet in a two-fight deal which would have created the richest two contests ever seen in British boxing history. That match-up may never be seen in the same light after Joshua’s back-to-back defeats to Usyk, but it could be one which surfaces later, well after they have passed their prime. But after a third career defeat, the climb to the summit to become No 1 of the era has gone for Joshua.
Supremacy of the division now stands between Usyk, an undefeated cruiserweight and heavyweight champion, and the similarly unblemished resume of Fury. Indeed, if Usyk can overcome the ‘Gypsy King’, the Ukrainian would go down as one of the all-time heavyweight greats.
Joshua, meanwhile, will campaign in the division’s second tier, even though his performance second time around against the classy Ukrainian was commendable in spite of defeat, perhaps his best since his most celebrated victory over Wladimir Klitschko at Wembley Stadium in 2017.
This was one of Joshua’s best performances because he displayed heart, passion, determination, focus and will. But he was beaten by the better man, with the better skillset. Joshua’s skills have paid the bills, but his craft will not take him to the mantle of greatness.
Joshua is in a similar place to the American Wilder, and a meeting between two punching titans whets the appetite. It should happen. It probably will. But Fury and Usyk were always going to be the trickiest fights – stylistically – for Joshua, who has brought major success for the sport, without being one of its greats in the ring. That’s boxing.