Frank Warren: Giving Anthony Joshua a shot at the world title next year is stupid
RINGSIDE: In his exclusive column, Warren writes Anthony Joshua's need to have his jaw tested - and the need for patience
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.One young heavyweight with the world at his fists is Anthony Joshua. I am a fan of the personable Olympic gold medallist and he certainly looks the business. But let’s not get too carried away just yet.
The ancient Russian he roughed up, Denis Bakhtov, may have been well past his sell-by date but he was a reasonable opponent, the sort you’d expect him to be fighting at this stage of his career.
Big Josh can certainly dish it out, but can he take it? What alarms me is that he seems so easy to hit. He is open to a right hand and if he was my fighter I would be taking that up with his trainer.
Without being a particularly concussive puncher, Joshua has slam-bammed his way past nine opponents in double-quick time. But to suggest he’ll be ready for a world title shot next year is plain stupid. He needs time to mature and better class opponents to test his stamina and chin.
Whether 39-year-old warhorse Michael Sprott, who is next up, can provide a more substantial examination is debatable.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments