AJ has everything to lose, not much to gain Briton up against unheralded Frenchman
Of the great Klitschko’s many achievements, perhaps the most underrated was that he so consistently satisfied the differing demands on boxing’s frustrating governing bodies to the extent he retained the WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles until his unexpected defeat by Tyson Fury in November 2015.
In defending the WBA and IBF titles against France’s Takam — the late replacement for the injured Kubrat Pulev and the IBF’s mandatory challenger — Joshua, Klitschko’s successor as the world’s leading heavyweight, in theory earns the freedom to choose his next opponent without the risk of his titles being stripped.
There yet remains the possibility of the WBA making such a threat — one they neared before confirmation of the fight with Pulev — but in the coming 12 months Joshua will again target the division’s biggest names.
He has repeatedly spoken of his desire to fight Fury but his British rival has long been inactive and remains without a boxing licence while he awaits the rescheduling of his postponed hearing with UK Anti-Doping. Promising domestic rivals Joe Joyce, Dillian Whyte and Daniel Dubois represent possible eventual opponents.
However, it is a unification fight with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, one with WBO champion Joseph Parker, or potentially domestic rival David Haye that loom large and whet the appetite. The possibility of those being Joshua’s next three opponents is near non-existent, but should Haye defeat Tony Bellew in their December rematch, there will be optimism surrounding the prospects of landing two of those three fights. A fight with Wilder in Las Vegas is the one that appeals the most.
Parker has minimal appeal beyond the WBO title he holds, but in the build-up to facing Takam, Joshua has spoken of his plan to simultaneously hold all four belts, which therefore makes the New Zealander’s a necessary scalp.
Haye would have posed a serious threat to Joshua at his peak but, now 37, his appeal lies in the fact he is similarly well-known to the wider British public and therefore capable of again selling out Wembley Stadium in a way that perhaps only Joshua-Tyson Fury could.
The belief that Joshua, at 28, is entering his prime also makes convincingly beating Takam absolutely essential. A loss of momentum could cost him opportunities, although Klitschko actually saw his reputation enhanced after a defeat to Joshua. The Briton will not need reminding what happened in 1990 when James ‘Buster’ Douglas produced what is widely considered the greatest upset in boxing history by stopping the then-undefeated Mike Tyson. Plans for Tyson to next fight Evander Holyfield were shelved.
By the time they eventually fought six years later, Tyson was no longer the fighter he once was, and in his defining fights he twice lost to him in the space of eight months.
Joshua may prove no Tyson, and Takam no Douglas, and he may also never fight an opponent of Holyfield’s calibre, but as was the case for Tyson in Tokyo 27 years ago, at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium on Saturday, Joshua has little to gain and everything to lose.
LONDON: Carlos Takam may not be the fight Anthony Joshua hoped for after his memorable stoppage of Wladimir Klitschko, but it remains an entirely necessary one if he is to fulfil his ambitions and pursue the match-ups in 2018 that will help shape and define his career.