Originally posted by Rip Chudd
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Comments Thread For: Dillian Whyte, Eddie Hearn Trade Words Over Joshua Deal Fallout
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Originally posted by Bronx2245 View PostI don't defend the articles, I just post them! It's the author's job to defend his work, not me! Besides, what makes you an authority? Anyway, here, have another:
Why Anthony Joshua Is The Odd Man Out In The Heavyweight Division Right Now
Peter Khan
Forbes
January 25, 2019:
Former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis hit the nail on the head recently when talking about where Anthony Joshua stands in the heavyweight division. In a recent interview, Lewis said, "Now that Wilder and Fury are taking part in a likely rematch, Joshua is forced to become the odd man out until the smoke clears."
"With Wilder Fury 2 happening, Eddie (Hearn) is now scrambling for a viable opponent for Joshua. If Joshua handles his business in April, the winner of Wilder Fury 2 should take on Joshua for the undisputed title. If that doesn’t happen, then we know that it’s just about milking the British fans for as much money as possible, instead of bringing the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world back home to them for the second time in their lifetime. Just that simple," Lewis said.
The leverage and power in the heavyweight division shifted on December 1, 2018, when Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury fought to an exciting draw acquiring over 350,000 pay-per-view buys along the way. Not only was new life breathed into the heavyweight division, but Anthony Joshua's relevance was also downgraded a few notches overnight. The truth of the matter is that it's starting to feel like Joshua simply has no desire to fight Wilder or Fury. At least not in the short term.
Eddie Hearn, Joshua's promoter and Joshua have done a great job in building Joshua's brand and revitalizing the British boxing scene. There's no denying that. The ability to put 90,000 fans in Wembley Stadium on more than one occasion and over 78,000 fans in Cardiff is something that no heavyweight champion in the United States has ever been able to do in modern time and is quite remarkable. But it's time to face the facts. In order for Joshua to truly become the undisputed superstar that he already thinks he is and very well might be, he must come to the United States and fight Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury. It's that simple. The championship belts matter, but at the same time, they don't matter. Right now, the argument can be made that after his performance on December 1, Tyson Fury is the people's champ. What happened to the April 13 date at Wembley? We're heading into February and there is still yet to be a formal announcement as to who Joshua will be fighting. Furthermore, it's insulting to boxing fans that Joshua could be entertaining a Dillian Whyte rematch. No disrespect to Whyte who is coming off an impressive knockout victory over Derek Chisora, but we've already seen that movie. We know the ending.
Look, Joshua is a very good heavyweight champion, but he hasn't earned "great" status yet. He's won an Olympic Gold medal in 2012 and he has beaten everyone put in front of him in his professional career including an aged Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin and an overrated Joseph Parker. No one else currently on his resume is going to cement his legacy as being great. He needs that career-defining fight and come October, Joshua turns 30 years old. It's now or never.
For all of the criticism that Wilder has taken over the years, he has never backed down from anyone. He's methodically removed all of the pieces off of the chess board in the past year to corner Joshua into a checkmate position. Wilder fought both Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury leaving no other options for Joshua. While I'm not privileged to negotiations, I did recently spend time with Wilder and manager Shelly Finkel in Wilder's suite at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. I looked right into Wilder's eyes and said, "Look, I don't know your business for 2019 or whether or not you're going to fight Joshua or Fury, but it's going to be a defining year for you." He simply looked at me and said, "Why not both?" My take away from that is that Wilder will fight anyone ready to make a deal and anywhere they want to fight. Once again, it's my own opinion, but it feels to me like Joshua has priced himself out of a Wilder fight happening simply to avoid the fight.
In order for Joshua to be great, he needs to take risks. Greatness is earned by taking chances. That's something he should have learned after watching Wilder vs. Fury. There were no losers in that fight. Boxing was the winner that evening. Until Joshua fights Wilder or Fury, anything else is going to be a letdown.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/peterka.../#1bc6b88371b9
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Originally posted by Robbie Barrett View PostWilder never backed down from anyone? Apart from Klitschko, Povetkin, Whyte, Joshua. Fact doe.
He gets very sensitive when anything negative is said about his hero and ends up making a complete fool of himself .So shall we go with your ******ity and at least say Wilder ran from ....say Joshua or didn't want to fight Whyte for very small amounts compared to where he is one fight in. Your observations are almost child like .....grow up kid or phone a friend! (if you have one).
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Originally posted by thack View PostHere we go , it's like trying to teach them English.This one is obviously either sleeping with The swerver, Eddie or the old man ?
He gets very sensitive when anything negative is said about his hero and ends up making a complete fool of himself .So shall we go with your ******ity and at least say Wilder ran from ....say Joshua or didn't want to fight Whyte for very small amounts compared to where he is one fight in. Your observations are almost child like .....grow up kid or phone a friend! (if you have one).
Ran as soon as he could from Povetkin
Took far less money to fight Stiverne instead of more for Whyte
Took less to fight Fury than he would have made to fight Joshua
Never backed down doe........
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Originally posted by Rip Chudd View PostWait, so now AJ controls the money and says how much guys are gonna get? HmmOriginally posted by McNulty View PostI saw that too. Hearn always be moving them goal posts.
Dillian Whyte has said in at least 2 interviews that AJ, not Hearn, is putting a limit on the offers he's recieved.
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Originally posted by Robbie Barrett View PostWilder avoided Klitschko
Ran as soon as he could from Povetkin
Took far less money to fight Stiverne instead of more for Whyte
Took less to fight Fury than he would have made to fight Joshua
Never backed down doe........
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Originally posted by kafkod View PostHere's another fact for you: Lennox Lewis works for Al Haymon.
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