Anthony Joshua Announces Spinning of Wheels, Not Fighting Until December

“My next fight is scheduled for December. Not ideal but everything is part of a bigger picture,” Joshua recently wrote on Instagram.

The UK star is less than two weeks removed from a unanimous decision victory over Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena in London, his first win since December of 2020 after back-to-back points losses to Oleksandr Usyk.

Most observers, though, saw a tentative and self-conscious Joshua show up against Franklin, one who just did the bare minimum to get the decision and keep himself out of harm’s way.

As this writer noted in his April 3 Notes from the Boxing Underground column at the time:

“Former 3-belt heavyweight champ Anthony Joshua ended up beating Saginaw, Michigan’s Jermaine Franklin, as expected (and as designed), but it wasn’t an easy watch. “AJ” fought tentative and self-conscious en route to his unanimous decision victory, like a 16-year-old taking a fourth driving test after failing the previous three…’Put on seat belt…Hands at10 and 2…Brake, gas…Remember to use turn signal…’

It was a performance well beneath a man once hyped as the future of boxing and the sport’s first billion dollar property. Joshua’s unwillingness to open up for fear of making a mistake and being hurt by a foe who was chosen precisely because he COULDN’T hurt him, was a portrait in frustration for all but his most die-hard fanboys and the DAZN broadcast team. It was like watching a tank cautiously maneuver around a tricycle for 36 long minutes.”

For what it’s worth, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn appears supportive of the former champ’s decision to push back his return.

“You’re better off being honest and saying, ‘Look, this is where we’re at,’” Hearn said in an interview with The DAZN Boxing Show. “I need him to have another fight with a level slightly above Jermaine Franklin, gel with Derrick James, hopefully go in there with a little more confidence to prepare him for Fury or Wilder.”

Realistically, Joshua’s star power allows him the opportunity to pick and choose his opposition. It puts him in the driver’s seat when it comes to negotiations with anyone but current WBC champ Tyson Fury. Among the viable big fight options for “AJ” are Dillian Whyte, Deontay Wilder, and, of course, Fury. His people, though, have seemed to focus in on Whyte as the next “big” opponent.

“I think Dillian Whyte is a great option,” Hearn confirmed. “It’s a dangerous fight. I think that’s a good fight. There’s other guys in the top-15.”

Given where Joshua is at currently, both in terms of mental strength and ring fluidity, it’s likely that his people may have a look at the “other guys in the top-15” or maybe someone even below the top 15.

It shouldn’t surprise anyone in the least if he’s facing an opponent just a notch above journeyman level in December and then slated for that Whyte fight in the first half of 2024. Maybe then, a Fury or Wilder fight would materialize in the second half of that year.

There’s truth to Hearn’s words about his fighter needing time to gel with his new trainer and to work through any mental issues he may have related to his ring work.

There’s also truth to the reality that Joshua may be on the precipice of another great fall– a fall that may be the last of his career– and it makes business sense to stretch out and make money from as many fights as possible, for as long as possible, before cashing out.