Did we see the last gasp of a heavyweight era almost entirely unfulfilled this past Saturday at the O2 Arena in London?
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.
Franklin is solid. That’s it. He proved himself better than people thought when he faced Dillian Whyte. In that Whyte fight, though, he also faded late and affirmed that he lacks the punching power to compete with opponents who will have a 20+ lb. edge in muscle mass. That’s why he was brought back to the UK to fight Joshua and that’s why Joshua’s caution was so damning.
Anthony Joshua...THIS Anthony Joshua...is not a man who poses a threat to any top heavyweight. Derrick James is a great trainer, but he’s not salvaging this Titanic. No trainer or collection of trainers could pull the iceberg out of the hull of this RMS Titanic right now. Joshua, himself, may be able to, but he’s yet to show even the slightest inclination of even being able to understand what’s going wrong with him.
If it hasn’t become apparent to promoter Eddie Hearn by now, the realization should soon set in. This is the time to run Joshua through as many safe soft-touch stadium shows as possible before cashing out against someone who’s going to take him out once and for all.
“I wish I could have knocked him out, 100 percent,” Joshua said in his post-fight interview. “But in the next 15 years, no one will remember that fight anyway.”
Very true. A most unmemorable evening was had by all.
So, with Joshua, for all intents and purposes, out of the big picture of elite-level heavyweights, that’s a key figure gone from what has to be regarded as a disappointing, underachieving generation of big men.
As this generation draws to a close, the heavyweight class just doesn’t leave behind a lot of legacy.
Tyson Fury fought Deontay Wilder (one too many times). Anthony Joshua, twice, went out with a whimper against Oleksandr Usyk. And that’s it. Fury never fought Joshua and looks like he’ll never fight Usyk. Joshua never fought Wilder when it mattered (and vice versa). Usyk has yet to fight a high-end heavyweight who fought like the bigger man and wasn’t tentative about letting his hands go (and Daniel Dubois ain’t the guy to do it).
Yeah, there are some intriguing heavyweights outside of the Fury-Joshua-Usyk-Wilder tier. Joe Joyce is definitely a presence, although at 37 he’s hardly a fresh-faced presence. Andy Ruiz can beat anyone on any given night. Dillian Whyte looks to be fading fast, but he’s tough and makes for a good mic game. Frank Sanchez, Joseph Parker, and Daniel Dubois are good, but unlikely to make any sort of major impact. Jared Anderson, IMO, is the future of the heavyweight division, but all the top names of this current crop of champs/contenders will probably be gone by the time his people move him up.
Go back a few years ago and I was writing about how we may be headed into a golden era of heavyweight action. Almost none of that promise has been fulfilled. Par for the course in boxing, some might say.
I still say we may get Fury-Joshua at some point. There’s just too much money in this UK blockbuster to not have someone try and cash in. Fury-Usyk may also happen at some point. But anything really big will be taking place well post-prime and won’t be nearly as meaningful as it should’ve been.
And speaking of well post-prime…
54-year-old Roy Jones Jr. had his first actual fight in more than five years on Saturday night at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, facing former UFC champ Anthony Pettis in a cruiserweight contest. Predictably, it was a sad display. Unpredictably, he actually lost to the 36-year-old Pettis, who mas making his pro boxing debut.
Jones' gait walking to the ring looked like me, half asleep, waddling to the bathroom at 4 am with my arthritic knees and the bloat from last night's pizza. The Hall of Famer fought in reserve, with the full knowledge that he’d probably only be good for three solid minutes of the scheduled eight-round contest. In my eyes, that was totally enough to take the decision over the former MMA star, who was coming forward the whole night, but never really had any sustained success in landing anything meaningful.
Three regional judges, however, thought otherwise and the man who was Mr. Everything in his prime had to fake a smile and walk away with a majority decision loss. Both Jones and Pettis were angling for a rematch in their post-fight interviews. Hopefully, nobody ponies up the money for that return bout.
Got something for Magno? Send it here: paulmagno@theboxingtribune.com