Atlas Tells Joshua To Retire If Fighting Is Just for Money
Teddy Atlas told Anthony Joshua to retire if his sole motivation for fighting was to earn money.
The comments come after Daniel Dubois knocked out Joshua in the fifth round as the latter retained his IBF Heavyweight Title. The manner of Joshua’s defeat raised some serious question marks, as he was dropped four times in the fight. He was also sent to the canvas in the first round, which took many by surprise, given that he was a massive favorite. He missed out on becoming a three-time heavyweight champion, while an undisputed fight between the winner of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk is now off the table.
In his post-fight comments, Joshua revealed that he had no intention of retiring. He gave Dubois his credit while also stating that he made mistakes. Naturally, this raised question marks over who he could box next. There is the option of a rematch with Daniel Dubois. However, there is a risk that Joshua gets knocked out again, which would further derail his career. There is the option of the Tyson Fury fight. The Saudis have indicated that they want to make the fight, regardless of how Joshua and Fury end up coming through in their bouts.
Atlas On Joshua
It is the biggest domestic clash available for both fighters, earning them a huge purse. However, given that Joshua has reportedly earned more than $200 million in the sport, there is no pressing need for Joshua to take that fight. Fighters ultimately have to consider their health and well-being. Joshua has managed to have a career where he has not taken a lot of punishment, given that he is mostly stopping people. Atlas has now called on Joshua to rethink his future and only continue if he desires to reach the top of the sport.
“He’s got to decide, ‘Do I retire?’ He doesn’t have to fight again. Ricky Hatton said he should retire. I agree with Ricky if it’s just about getting another 150 million pounds. If it’s that, you’ve got enough. Go off into the sunset. People love you. But if there’s something that keeps you up at night, then you’ve got to fight again for you. Otherwise, no. Joshua got exposed. If you do come back, you have to see what you did wrong and what you’ve done wrong in the past. Even if you’ve gotten away with it, it’s still wrong. It has to be corrected. If you correct it, maybe you can come back and do something huge again,” Atlas said
What’s Next?
Nevertheless, Joshua has shown that he can bounce back. After suffering his loss against Andy Ruiz Jr., he put things right in the rematch. He also returned from his two consecutive defeats against Usyk by putting himself into a title position. Although the level of opposition was not elite, Joshua managed to navigate himself into a title shot. But given that he has come up short at the elite level against Usyk and now Dubois, is Joshua able to get over the line in the biggest fights?
His biggest win of his career was against Wladimir Klitschko. However, Klitschko was not the same fighter that faced Tyson Fury. The Ukrainian was at the latter end of his career. He was also on the verge of stopping Joshua before the Brit got off the canvas to finish the fight in the 11th round. Ultimately, Joshua must decide what is best for his future, leaving the Brit with plenty to think about moving forward.
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