THE KILLER BLOW

What a difference eight months has made for Anthony Joshua. Since I last wrote about him back in August 'The Fear Inside The Ring' (2023) he appears to have fully recovered the killer instinct that many fans had worried may have deserted him like a stolen superpower, with his particular form of kryptonite seeming to be the curse of overthinking. His latest victory over Cameroonian, Francis Ngannou, proved that, like a fighter pilot given the right co-ordinates, he can deliver bombs with similar devastating accuracy. Of course, it clearly helps to have an expert navigator such as Ben Davidson help direct AJ's heat seeking gloved missiles to fully accomplish the mission at hand.

It also seems apt that Joshua should be the current saviour of boxing's reputation at this crucial juncture when it has been having an identity crisis of sorts. Boxing, much like the rest of the world right now, is in a state of flux, oscillating between being on the precipice of complete ruination and the desperate prayer/hope of an ecstatic renaissance. The brain drain of top athletes to the siren song of Saudi money has noticeably left America and United Kingdom barren in staging major fight nights due to the sheer financial power of that other Kingdom that can make any fight it chooses at the click of its mighty, oil-covered fingers.

Even more poetic, then, that Joshua has had his own identity crisis, ever since his loss in the ring to Andy Ruiz back in June of 2019 where he has since been searching for something he appeared to have lost - the unwavering belief in his power. However, even through his most vulnerable wobbles, Joshua has somehow managed to keep active, ensuring that regardless of successive losses to Oleksandr Usyk and other underwhelming performances, he has continued to learn and soak up data in the ring. Now, having combined his own experience with that of trainer/coach Ben Davidson has seemingly proved to be the magic bullet for AJ and one where he can now plot his path to becoming a three time heavyweight world champion and record even more history for his legacy.

The key to Joshua's return to the top of the fight game has simply been his hunger to keep moving forward, for much like a shark, if you stop moving in that business, you're dead in the water.

With increasing amounts of crossover/novelty fights being made between YouTubers and MMA fighters who have been chancing their arm in the world of boxing, it needed someone to silence the noise around the apparent ease with which they have been seeming to make the transition from one world to another.

The biggest threat of this new form of crossover and one that most credibly threatened the global reputation of boxing, has been Francis Ngannou who went the distance with fellow Brit, Tyson Fury, to herald the start of Riyadh Season back in October, 2023. With the undefeated Fury rocked by the MMA fighter and put down for a count in the early rounds, the world looked on agog - could it be that Ngannou had exposed the weakness of modern fighters in boxing? Well, Joshua answered that question last Saturday and blew Ngannou away with a killer blow that rendered him temporarily unconscious.

It can't have been easy for Fury (sitting ringside) to watch the ease with which Joshua dispatched Ngannou, the man who almost made a mockery of his undefeated record.

The question now is, who has the greater hunger of the two Brits? Joshua or Fury?

Right now it's looking like AJ and depending on whether/if Fury passes his career-defining test against Oleksandr Usyk in May, the legacy of both men will become increasingly revealed to us on the desert stages of Saudi where reputations have nowhere to hide.

Greed can bring truth to the light and right now the only truth is Joshua is looking hungry for something beyond money.

Legacy.