Chris Algieri believes that Anthony Joshua is damaged goods after his loss to IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois last Saturday. Algieri feels that the 34-year-old Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) is done at the championship level and won’t be able to hang with the younger heavyweights coming up.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
The timing and reflexes that two-time champion Joshua had earlier in his career that allowed him to get out of the way of punches are now gone. He can’t get out of the way of incoming shots now, as we saw last Saturday night with Dubois (22-2, 21 KOs) knocking him down four times.
Eddie Hearn said earlier today that they will wait and see what happens with Tyson Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21 before making a decision on Joshua’s next fight. Hearn hopes to fight Fury next rather than take a rematch with Dubois, which would be risky for AJ.
“Yeah, I don’t see Anthony Joshua at the championship levels against the guys competing for world titles,” said Chris Algieri. Inside Boxing Live when asked if Anthony Joshua is finished at a championship level after his loss to Daniel Dubois.
These contenders are likely to knock Joshua out:
– Martin Cole
– Bakhodir Jalolov
– Filip Hrgovic
– Zhilei Zhang
– Fabio Wardley
– Worship Ajagba
– Jared Anderson
Some of these guys, Joshua, may be able to knock out if they fight him for the time being like the four rebuilding heavyweights have beaten Hearn recently. But if they started fast like Dubois did, they would probably knock Joshua out.
“Do I see him against Tyson Fury if he loses to Oleksandr Usyk? Yes. Do I see him fighting Dubois again and having a chance to win? No. Do I see him fighting Usyk again? No. Do I see him competing against Tyson Fury if he gets past Usyk? No, I don’t see him competing at the highest level anymore.
“I just don’t think he has it anymore. Against Ruiz, he dropped Ruiz early. He looked good. He didn’t look good from the opening bell in this fight,” Algieri said of Joshua. “Anthony was so despondent about his ability and the way he fights. It almost diminishes Dubois’ performance.”
Joshua hasn’t looked nearly the same fighter he has in the past since his knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. not in 2019. He likely would have lost the rematch with Ruiz if the Mexican American had taken training camp seriously and come into the fight in good shape.
“I don’t think Anthony is used to fighting guys as big and as tall as him,” Algieri said of Joshua not expecting Dubois to nail him with a long right hand late in the first round. “So, he thought he was safe. He normally backs off guys that are shorter than him and usually against guys that don’t have the range that he does.”
In the final 20 seconds of round one, Joshua thought he was out of reach of Dubois and was nailed by a long right hand that dropped him as if he had been shot. AJ completely misjudged Dubois’ ability to get to him with his reach, and he paid the price. After that knockdown, Joshua was never the same. Whatever game plan Joshua had going into the match was out the window as he was forced to fight defensively.
“That shot landed right at the end of the shot, which is the biggest power you have at the end of the shot. Todd Grisham said, ‘I think he (Joshua) damaged property,’ and I’d have to agree right now. 34 is 34, and for a guy who bases his success on athleticism, he’s going to break down faster than other guys,” Algieri said.
Joshua has probably been damaged for the last five years since his knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019.
The only reason AJ was able to keep going is the way his promoter, Eddie Hearn, looked at him. Until last Saturday’s fight with Dubois, the only good heavyweight Joshua had fought was Oleksandr Usyk. We know how those two fights ended for Joshua.
