Duke McKenzie postponed the grim future for Anthony Joshua if he fights against an unmotivated opponent

Boxing analyst Duke McKenzie says Anthony Joshua is “Mentally fragile” At the moment after his fifth round, Daniel Dubois last year.

AJ’s delicate condition

McKenzie believes that even if former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (28-4, 25 COs) fights a ‘no-shoper’ outside the top 15, he will be vulnerable to being knocked out.

Losing to a lower-level non-adjusted would complete AJ’s career. He mentions that Joshua can fight to the level of his second level opponent. Do this against a motivated, amped Fighter can end badly for Joshua, with him in a delicate state “spiritually.”

Hearn’s risky rebuilding plan

The promoter of the match room, Eddie Hearn, mentioned four candidates for Joshua’s fighting fight in January or February 2026. Some of the fighters Hearn mentioned, Efe Ajagba and Tony Yoka, would be very risky for Joshua, which turns 36 on October 15.

“The plan for Anthony Joshua is that he also has to fight against a run. If he fights someone in the top four or five, it’s light again,” said the analyst and former multi-weight world champion Duke McKenzie said Pro Boxing fans About Anthony Joshua’s next battle.

Hearn has not yet mentioned that a top-five contender for Joshua’s setup was used for early next year. In my opinion, this would be an ominous step, as AJ did not beat a high degree in six years when he defeated the 284 pound Andy Ruiz on December 7, 2019.

Before Joshua’s fifth round cut against Daniel Dubois in the fifth round in September 2024, he was successfully practiced by Hearn by a four-match rebuild by Hearn against contenders outside the top 5.

The grim reality to dubois

“I believe he is very fragile from a spiritual perspective, Anthony Joshua,” McKenzie said. “So they should try to rebuild him. You can’t put him in with a live thread. Forget Kabayel. Forget about Dubois. Forget about Bakole. Anyone who is going to throw him now gives him nightmares, given what Dubois did to him. That means they have to look at someone outside the top 10, probably the top 15, for him to roll. ‘

Hearn does not plan to rebuild Joshua. His idea is to put him in early 2026 at a set -to -level opponent “Roll the dice” Against a big name in the summer, which he believes will be Tyson Fury. Hearn does not mention the other heavyweights he would consider for AJ’s summer fight if he could not get anger. Joseph Parker or Oleksandr Ulsyk is likely to be the options he would look at for Joshua.

Joshua’s career on the right track

“Now, the problem with that is if you are fighting a man who is not too much, you get to their level,” McKenzie says to AJ’s warm -up ponent. “If Anthony Joshua amounts to someone else’s level who is not even in the top -15 and they eventually know him, his career is done.”

There are fighters at the bottom of the top 15 that Joshua can handle without much risk, but he will have to deal with the criticism of fans.

“Right now he’s in no man’s country. When he fights, he runs the risk of beating. Anyone who fights Joshua will get them a great time, even if it’s a so-called no-shop, ‘McKenzie says.