Anthony Joshua Lose Again to Oleksandr Usyk, Should He Retire?
Former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will look to reclaim his titles when he faces Oleksandr Usyk at the Jeddah Super Dome in Saudi Arabia on August 20. If he emerges victorious, Joshua would become a three-belt unified champion – and it may set up a mouth-watering undisputed clash with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
Joshua will not be forced into retirement if he loses once again in his rematch with The Ukrainian – that’s according to his promoter Eddie Hearn. Joshua is hoping to avenge the result last year after he suffered the second defeat of his illustrious career.
Back in September, Joshua was comfortably outclassed as the Ukrainian took his WBA, WBO and IBF world titles in front of 65,000 fans at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Usyk stunned Joshua on a number of occasions and was simply too fast for the Brit, landing a number of impressive hits to win unanimously on points.
However, the 32-year-old would find himself cut adrift of the of the heavyweight picture if he suffers defeat at the hands of Usyk. Regardless, Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn remains adamant that a loss to the 35-year-old Ukrainian – who admirably returned home to defend his country from the Russian military invasion – would not force the Brit into retirement.
After Usyk VS Joshua Rematch, What Is Next?
“No, I would be shocked,” Hearn told when quizzed about the prospect of Joshua retiring if he loses to Usyk for a second successive time. “AJ loves fighting; boxing is everything to him.
“When he lost to Usyk, the amount of people in the industry messaged me, saying, ‘I think he should retire now.’ I said, ‘He just lost to the pound-for-pound No 1 or 2. He’s not had that many fights.’
“He loves the sport, and I’m sure he’ll be around for a long time, but obviously we’d much rather win.”
Eddie Hearn believes Anthony Joshua will be around for a long time.
The reassuring words from Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn comes after former heavyweight champion David Haye claimed Joshua faces premature retirement should he lose to Usyk in Saudi Arabia next month. The 41-year-old believes Joshua’s mentality would essentially force him to walk away from the sport.
“If he doesn’t win, I am not sure he wants to be in a sport where he knows he is not the best,” Haye said. “He got out-hustled by someone he knows he can beat and if – he does everything right and Usyk still beats him – I don’t know if there is anything else for him to do in the sport.
“He is such a winner that I don’t know what he does next, if he loses again. He believes he has all the physical abilities to beat Usyk, so do I, so with the right plan he can get the victory.”
Rage On The Red Sea: Usyk vs Joshua 2
Yeah, we think it is too early for Joshua to retire from the sport that made him shine. Moreover, he is still 32 years old and has a fantastic record, 24 wins with 22 KOs. The big fighters he has defeated are Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, and Kubrat Pulev, all knocked out. That’s not bad at all.
