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Anthony Joshua should earn another title fight against IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois by defeating one of the solid contenders such as Martin Bacall or Tyson Fury if he comes out of retirement.
No more free passes
Journeyman Dillian Whyte and faded former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder are two names being mentioned as strong possibilities for Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) to fight next if Fury 'The Gypsy King' can't be taken out since retiring from Turki Al-Sheikh.
The idea is for Joshua to use White, 36, or Wilder to rebuild his confidence and status in the boxing world before facing Dubois in a rematch this year. However, these two fighters are no longer relevant in the division today and haven't been for many years.
What Joshua needs is to beat one of these tough fighters to win a title fight like regular fighters do:
– Martin Bakole
– Agit Kabayel
– Gilles Zhang
– Joseph Parker
– Moses Itauma
AJ's confidence has been gone since his fifth round knockout loss to Dubois last year on September 21st in London and he needs to establish himself as someone who deserves a world title fight. That's how it goes for normal fighters and it's not fair to give Joshua a chance to fight for a world title after beating a washed-up Wilder or Whyte.
Meritocracy over star power
“Where Anthony Joshua is at the moment, put him with Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder in the next six. If he wins those two fights then give him a fight against (IBF heavyweight champion) Daniel Dubois if he wants a rematch or Tyson Fury,” said Garrett A. Davis Pred talkSport Boxing for Anthony Joshua.
“Tyson Fury makes sense if he's going to box again, but definitely Daniel Dubois. He's the belt holder right now and he's going in that direction (up), while Joshua is coming in that direction (down),” Adam Catterell said. “He (AJ) has to win to earn the right to fight.
“There should be a meritocracy in this. His profile should go out the window in a second. Joshua needs to win a solid fight to get back into the mix. I personally would like to see Fury fight and if it's not Fury I'd like to push him to Martin Bakole. why isn't Bakole a top contender, right?'
The way boxing is now, fighters who become pseudo-stars like Joshua shouldn't earn title shots. They are given without having to work for the position because it is a business.
If you're a heavyweight belt holder, you'll fight Joshua because it means a big payday, but it makes boxing look more like a popularity contest than an actual sport. It can't be a real sport if popular fighters don't have to earn title shots like regular fighters.
“Bacall is a big favorite there right now, a big favorite,” Garrett said of how Bacall would be favored to beat the 35-year-old Joshua.
AJ would be fodder for Bakole right now if this fight were to happen, but at least taking it would show he believes in trying to earn a title shot. Again, it would look bad if Joshua gets a rematch with Dubois after beating the 39-year-old Wilder or Whyte.
“Maybe so, but we're talking about the best guys against the best guys. “Let's try,” Catterall said.
