EDITOR’S LETTER
Now in the most crucial phase of his development, Joshua’s opponents may not be the biggest danger
Why Joshua must remain focused
ILOST track of the amount of times I saw Anthony Joshua last week. While some of those sightings were of the gigantic athlete in the flesh – as he performed an open workout, starred at a press conference and bludgeoned a brave Frenchman – most were not. He could be spotted, or more accurately was absolutely impossible to miss, on television (as he appeared on both ITV and BBC in separate onehour specials, as well as being all over Sky Sports), on numerous billboards, posters, buses and bus stops. Only a few were to promote that aforementioned fight with Carlos Takam; the majority were to advertise myriad products that he is undoubtedly being paid gazillions to endorse.
I also lost count of how many times Joshua insisted he was focused solely on boxing, or punctuated a forecast for his impending fight with a promise of humility. He has never wanted to appear cocky or anything other than entirely dedicated to his art, yet it must be becoming exceptionally difficult to remain humble given his level of fame – while also finding the hours to nurture it.
Those television documentaries take valuable time, as do the photo shoots required to attach his image to advertisements. Without question, Joshua is in the midst of an exceptionally dangerous phase of his development, and that danger is heightened not by the opponents he’ll face necessarily, but the trappings and riches of what he has become.
As Sky’s Ed Robinson alluded to on these pages two weeks ago, it’s easy to presume that we’re yet to see the best of Joshua when the truth – if “AJ” and his team are not exceptionally careful – could turn out to be the opposite.
His tougher-than-expected victory over Takam was his fifth world title fight. At the same point of Mike Tyson’s career he had just cruelly thrashed Tyrell Biggs (30 years ago almost to the day) and was about to embark upon the best year of his career – form-wise – when he would obliterate Larry Holmes, Tony Tubbs and Michael Spinks. But for Tyson, as his fame reached astonishing heights, his progress pretty much ended there. His life went into a tailspin, as the pressure became too much and the demands on his time too vast to juggle.
Logic currently dictates that Joshua, six years older than Tyson was back then, is far too mature and dedicated to let a similar implosion occur. But look back at interview footage of “Iron” Mike from 1987 and he too was saying all the right things. He too just wanted to cement his name in boxing history by being the very best he could possibly be and he too was a studious trainer eager to be influenced by legends of the past.
The above is not to say that Joshua is currently the invincible machine that Tyson appeared to be in 1988, either. Which is perhaps why it’s even more important for the current king to remain on the straight and narrow because Tyson – due to his incredible natural ability – was able to win fights in 1989 even as his wheels were being wrenched from beneath him. What Joshua needs now is to be given the time to knuckle down and enter his prime years fully equipped to make the most of them. The outrageous level of hard work he has put in since dedicating himself to boxing at the turn of the decade – when he was no angel, don’t forget – to get to where he is now, should be just the start. There is certainly an air of greatness around Joshua that you can taste in his presence, a feeling that he might be one of those once-in-a-lifetime type fighters who truly leaves his mark. But that is just potential for now and, comfortingly, Joshua seems acutely aware of that.
The heavyweight king spoke of the Holmes interview that was in last week’s Boxing News after defeating Takam, and referenced Larry’s advice to use the jab more frequently. While Joshua should certainly listen to such educated opinion, he would also be well advised to look closely at those who failed to when it mattered most.
MIKE TYSON’S LIFE WENT INTO A TAILSPIN, AS THE PRESSURE BECAME TOO MUCH