To start the month of April, heavyweight Anthony Joshua had one of his sleepiest performances to date outpointing Jermaine Franklin, who prior had lost a close fight to Dillian Whyte. Joshua, who had lost three out of his last five fights was hoping to silence the detractors but rather empowered them despite having a new coach, Derrick James, in his corner.
The head of Matchroom Boxing, Eddie Hearn, recently spoke to the DAZN Boxing Show, live from San Antonio, Texas, prior to Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez winning his second world title against Christian Gonzalez. Here is what Hearn had to say to them.
The mighty have certainly fallen as Joshua was portrayed to be an iconic heavyweight with a bodybuilder physique, yet has not lived up to the massive hype especially getting outboxed twice by Oleksandr Usyk, a smaller, but more talented fighter. Now it appears despite being one of the biggest names in the sport, Joshua is currently going to rebuild before entering another big fight.
“The one thing we have done in [seven years] is have three fights in [in one year],” said Hearn. “[I think] fight at the end of July, and Dillian Whyte is a good option.”
Whyte who defeated Jermaine Franklin last year has already fought Anthony Joshua and been stopped by him. Now, if they fought again, they’d face each other at the tail-end of their careers.
“You’re better off being honest and saying this is where we are at,” said Hearn. “I need [Joshua] to have another fight with a level slightly above Jermaine Franklin, gel with Derrick James, and hopefully go in there with more confidence, [which will prepare him] for [Tyson] Fury or [Deontay] Wilder.”