The world was a different place when the plans were being laid out for Anthony Joshua’s future at the end of last year.
Blast Jake Paul in December, get back on the horse in February and then take a big one – possibly the big one – against Tyson Fury in the summer.
On December 29 everything changed and nothing else mattered.
Two of Joshua’s dearest friends died in a car accident – with Joshua in the vehicle. All of a sudden, nothing else mattered.
Give Joshua his time, sure. Let him make a decision. Let him go back on it. The trauma he’s now confronting is infinitely bigger than this sport we reside in and this business that can always wait another day.
There is that Reynoso slogan: No Boxing, No Life. But when it really matters, boxing is boxing and life is life. Perspective is important.
If ever we needed a reminder that there is more to life than boxing, it is this.
Joshua doesn’t need to fight again. He hasn’t needed to fight for a very long time.
Whether he wants to or not now is completely immaterial. Nothing else matters but Joshua’s mental well-being and those of the families and friends who lost two loved ones on December 29.
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There are so many questions around the birth of Zuffa Boxing and the form and shape that it will take in the coming months and years. The truth is, not many of us know or can predict what way it will go.
The signing of IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia was significant. And when you look at the landscape of boxing, they could – one would imagine – quite easily scoop up a number of big names. The recent legal letter that is doing the rounds between Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis implies that Ortiz would be within his rights to find another home. Team Usyk has revealed there have been talks with Dana White. There has been speculation about where the future of Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez might lie after the last fight of his Matchroom deal. Opetaia could be the first of several big names. And you’d imagine, given Zuffa’s links to Riyadh Season, they would still be able to ply their trade on that side of the fence, if they chose to.
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The speculation linking Deontay Wilder and Derek Chisora to a fight is interesting because only a couple of years ago, when that fight was on the radar, it would have represented Chisora cruelly being laid to waste in a possible final act of his career. Now, however, Chisora is the man in form and would start favorite. It’s a line Chisora’s promoter, Frank Warren, has often used: timing is everything.
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Josh Kelly is a considerable underdog against Bakhram Muratazaliev next week in Newcastle. It’s worth remembering a line Kelly told me in an interview last May when I asked about Murtazaliev. “Perfect fight for me,” said Kelly.
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I’m watching with interest the movements of IVisit Boxing chief Ed Pereira. We spoke last week for this website and I have no idea if he’s the second coming or the second coming of Harold Smith. If what he’s proposing happens, starting with a show in Las Vegas in April, I’d consider it a boon for the sport. But, as with Zuffa, a watch and see approach is probably the most sensible form of action.
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The apparently intensifying online feud between twins Jermall and Jermell Charlo is possibly only the second most depressing family feud of the week – discounting Brooklyn Beckham vs. David and Victoria. The sight of Amado and Fernando Vargas Jnr getting into it outside XS at the Wynn in Vegas was really troublesome. Then I actually thought I could do that with my brother and no one would notice – not least record it – and we’d be okay the next day. I don’t want to roll out the cliché that family always comes first, but going back to the start of this column, and talking about Joshua’s friends Sina and Latz, it makes you realize that life is far too short.
