by Tamas Pradarics
There are no dream matchups that get more recognition today in boxing’s sphere than the one between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. Both of the two giant athletes hold a portion of the heavyweight throne with Joshua being a WBA/IBF/IBO unified beltholder while the WBC title belongs to Wilder.
Joshua (20-0, 20 KO’s) last defended his belts against late substitute opponent Carlos Takam via a tenth round TKO on October 28 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. The Watford-born Englishman dominated the fight until referee Phil Edwards halted the contest following to a number of unanswered blows landed on the double-tough Takam.
Wilder (39-0, 38 KO’s), on the other hand, had a short night in his last outing, dropping former titlist Bermane Stiverne thrice en route to a first-round annihilation on November 4 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Most of the people who are involved in boxing say the sport needs this fight to happen as it is the latest of those matchups that can gather attention well beyond of the horizon of the sweet science.
One of those who would like Joshua and Wilder in the same ring with gloves on soon is leading African boxing promoter, Nestor Tobias.
”Taking all things into consideration, it is obviously a fight the fans want to see because the fans only want to see the best fights. It is, however, a fight that Joshua can afford to postpone because he is clearly the favorite, and the cash cow at the moment with any opponent he picks will sell out an arena provided he continues winning. It is also a fight that Wilder would like to make happen right away at all cost because in boxing you want to fight the best, cash-in and relax and do more big fights and this is a big deal for Wilder. So in the interest of the fans whose pure interest is to see a good fight, the fight will be good,” said Tobias in a recent chat with BoxingScene.com.
After Joshua stopped former heavyweight king Wladimir Klitschko in a thriller earlier this year, most of the fans thought the Englishman would be the clear favorite to get the ’W’ against his American counterpart. But now, thanks to the most recent performances of the participants, Joshua-Wilder is believed to be an almost even matchup by the majority of the boxing world. The Namibian promoter, however, does not think it is a good idea to pick a favorite based on only one performance.
”I don’t think it would be fair to predict a winner based on their last fights. Joshua had a change of opponents at the last minute which he did not mentally prepare for. Takam was awkward, but Joshua handled him even though it was a drop in performance compared to his last fights. On the other hand, Wilder had an easy day in the office, but at this heavyweight level, one punch can end a fight which makes heavyweight boxing even more interesting, so you got to have a good strong chin.”
So who would Nestor choose to win the big WBC/WBA/IBF heavyweight unification matchup?
”It will be all about tactics, but for some reason, I will give it to my homeboy from Africa. Joshua looks more athletic of the two, better motivated, there is a lot of hype around him right now so he is motivated to perform well, although it will not be easy for him and he must be careful of avoiding big shots that could send him to the canvas,” declared the promoter of former junior welterweight unified titleholder Julius Indongo.
Tobias says promoters and matchmakers need to take a potential unification between the two knockout artists seriously as this fight is exactly what the fans demand.
”The heavyweight division has been quiet for a long time so when there are opportunities to make big fights like this, we should grab them with both hands in the interest of the fans.”
You can reach Tamas Pradarics at pradaricst@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @TomiPradarics.
