The sky was the limit for Anthony Joshua.
There was a point in the not-too-distant past when anyone and everyone expected Joshua to be the next great heavyweight. That’s what happens when you start your career 22-0 with 21 knockouts, a defining win over Wladimir Klitschko, and in possession of the WBA (Super), IBF and WBO titles.
In the sport’s most glamorous division, Joshua looked primed for a historic run as the sport’s unquestioned biggest star.
But since that sizzling start which included a trio of successful world title defenses, AJ’s star faded fast.
Over his last five fights, the once undefeated champ is just 2-3 with a knockout loss to Andy Ruiz and a pair of decision losses to Oleksandr Usyk. On April 1, he faces Jermaine Franklin in a fight he’s expected to win. How deflating of a loss would it be? Joshua himself said he would retire if he lost. Could it really all be over so soon?
WATCH: Joshua vs Franklin live and exclusive on DAZN
If the unthinkable happens and Franklin pulls off the upset that forces the former unified champion into retirement, is it safe to say that Anthony Joshua was overrated?
Yes and no.
Let’s start with the reasons why.
The case for and against Anthony Joshua as overrated
When Joshua made his professional debut on October 5, 2013, the expectations were sky-high for the fighter from Watford, England. Carrying a 2012 Super-heavyweight gold medal and a strong amateur record of 40-3 despite having a late start in boxing, the bar was set extraordinarily high for Joshua to define a new era of heavyweight boxing. Mixing a superhero physique, model looks and devastating power, Joshua’s popularity soared as his countrymen fully expected him to rival some of the greatest heavyweights of all time.
For the first three years of his career, Joshua tore through the competition. After obliterating Charles Martin for the IBF heavyweight title and starching both Eric Molina and Dominic Breazeale, Joshua was in line to face Wladimir Klitschko for the vacant WBA (Super) heavyweight title. With Tyson Fury “retired,” Joshua’s primed to take over as the biggest heavyweight star in boxing when he stepped into the ring on April 29, 2017, against Klitschko with a perfect 18-0 record with every single one of his victories coming by way of knockout.
MORE: Everything you need to know about Anthony Joshua vs. Jermaine Franklin
The fight aired on Showtime where American audiences got a chance to look at the budding star against a man who ruled the heavyweight division with an iron fist for nearly a decade. 90,000 fans were crammed into Wembley Stadium to witness what would be the passing of the torch and Joshua snatched it with a violent 11th-round TKO. It wasn’t just any win, it was a seminal moment and defining victory, a showdown recognized by both The Ring Magazine and the Boxing Writers Association of America as the “Fight of the Year.”
But the reality was that the expectations were nearly too high for Joshua to meet. Framing him as one of the greatest of all time doesn’t allow much wiggle room for failure and when Joshua was stunned by Andy Ruiz it proved that this superhero was still a mortal.
It can be argued that Joshua has the best resume of opponents in the current landscape of heavyweights and there isn’t really much to pushback on. He hasn’t had many “soft touches” and it’s one contender after another, all the while Joshua is maintaining a celebrity status reserved for only the biggest stars in the world. It was almost impossible for him to maintain. With back-to-back losses to Usyk, there are some claiming that Joshua was always overrated. It’s not fair, but when you attempt to put him in the same conversation as Lennox Lewis, Muhammad Ali and others, there’s nowhere to go but down. If he loses to Franklin, the assessment would be deemed fair.
Can Anthony Joshua learn from Wladimir Klitschko’s revival?
However, on the other side of the conversation is the fact that Joshua is only 33 years of age and there’s still time to course correct the ship. Although the losses to Usyk and Ruiz cannot be erased, they aren’t legacy-ending by any means.
Keep in mind that Wladimir Klitschko also had lofty expectations and he was written off after being knocked out by both Corrie Sanders and Lamon Brewster in 2003 and 2004, respectfully. The pundits wrote him off but then legendary trainer Emmanuel Steward took the reins of Klitschko’s career and a winning streak that stretched for over a decade and beyond Steward’s tragic passing in 2012. During that time, those losses were forgotten and Klitschko was regarded as the most dominant heavyweight of the era.
WATCH: Joshua vs Franklin live and exclusive on DAZN
Joshua could find himself on the same path under the tutelage of trainer Derrick James. His legacy isn’t beyond repair, just as long as he doesn’t suffer a loss to Franklin in his first fight with James. It’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility that Joshua could go on an impressive run and become a world champion again. Granted, it appears that he’d have to go through either Usyk or Fury to get a taste of championship gold. But there’s a potential blockbuster fight with Deontay Wilder that could put the two-time unified heavyweight champion back into the spotlight.
As long as people lower their unrealistic expectations and Joshua gets back on the right track, his legacy will still be intact. But it all starts all over again against Franklin on April 1 where a win begins repairing a damaged legacy while a loss cements his ending.
Yes, the sky was once limit for Anthony Joshua. Maybe it still is.