Arum Says Joshua Is Overrated – ‘Never Thought He Was Great’

Bob Arum has suggested that Anthony Joshua is an overrated fighter. 

The Top Rank promoter’s comments come as Joshua suffered a fifth-round knockout defeat against Daniel Dubois. The Brit was dropped four times on his way to the defeat as he missed out on the IBF belt. The defeat also meant that Joshua’s hopes of securing an undisputed fight are now less likely. He would have been in position to face the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. In his post-fight comments, Joshua confirmed that he would not be retiring as he faces question marks over his next opponent. 

His trainer, Ben Davidson, has also come under fire. Roy Jones Jr. said that Joshua should leave him. Joshua has the opportunity to rematch Dubois, with suggestions that the fight could take place next year if Daniel does not get the Fury-Usyk winner next. However, another defeat to Dubois would increase the calls on Joshua to call it a day. He has reportedly earned over $200 million during his fight career. He is also a former two-time unified heavyweight champion. The boxer does risk taking more punishment, especially when he does not need to. His financial future is secure; Arum felt that Joshua was overrated.

Arum On Joshua

“I’ve always been high on Dubois. I’ve never been high on Joshua, but I never thought he was a great fighter, particularly after the Andy Ruiz fight. Again, it didn’t surprise me. I think Joshua is very, very vulnerable. Oh yeah. I think the silliest thing for Joshua would be to fight Dubois again,” Arum said 

His comments were based on AJ’s loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019. Joshua was making his American debut at Madison Square Garden. While he dropped Ruiz, he ultimately got tagged himself when he was going for the finish. Joshua never recovered and was eventually stopped. Joshua ended up winning the rematch comfortably, but Arum felt that was when Joshua showed weaknesses. 

Joshua’s Future

Nevertheless, there are still some big fights out there for Joshua. The Saudis have reportedly indicated that they want to make Joshua vs. Fury. This was regardless of their respective results. It is still the biggest fight in British boxing. While it may not be for all the bells, it is a battle to see who the best British heavyweight of this generation is. Fury is still regarded as ahead of Dubois, although that may change if they ever face off.

There is also the Deontay Wilder fight. Wilder had signed a two-fight deal to face Joshua. But his loss to Joseph Parker prevented that from happening. Wilder was knocked out in his last fight against Zhilei Zhang. That was his second consecutive loss after the Parker defeat. Malik Scott has said Wilder still plans on fighting as they target a future Joshua bout. That leaves Joshua with plenty to consider moving forward. 

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