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WBA (Super) & IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua
Record: 20(20)-0-0
Next Fight: vs Joseph Parker on 31st March 2018
Anthony Joshua is a special athlete. He began boxing at the age of 18, was an Olympic Gold medallist aged 23 and has knocked out every single one of the twenty opponents he has faced professionally en route to becoming a world champion.
There is no doubt about his physical prowess, sporting a muscle-bound physique at six foot six and frequently weighing in around the 250 pounds mark, the man casts a towering shadow over a division of giants.
However, for a long time, question marks have remained over the durability of Joshua's chin and his boxing ability. This is due partly to the fact that he took up the sport at a relatively late age and is still improving and honing his craft whilst the uninspiring standard of opposition he has faced has thus far has given observers little opportunity to see him tested consistently against the best the division has to offer.
AJ won his first world title in April 2016 against Charles Martin. However, it wasn't until he faced and knocked out Wladimir Klitschko a year later that he truly arrived atop the sport and appeared to answer those questions, at least for now.
On Saturday 31 March at Cardiff's Principality Stadium looms the challenge of WBO heavyweight champion, New Zealand's Joseph Parker, fresh off a majority decision victory over another British heavyweight Hughie Fury. Here we take a look at what lays ahead should the heavily favoured Brit come through the fight against Parker this Saturday with his record intact.
#5 Daniel Dubois
Record: 7(7)-0-0
Next Fight: To be decided
This young, fresh-faced Londoner doesn't look like a violent man; he's unassuming, softly spoken and not particularly emotive. However, he knows how to hurt and when he smells fear in the ring he knows how to finish opponents off, often unleashing a powerful barrage of punches with a singular focus and intensity that is reminiscent of Mike Tyson in his heyday.
From what little opportunity audiences have had to observe this upcoming prospect, comparisons have already been drawn to compatriot Joshua. Dubois fights with an orthodox, upright style, exhibits a textbook and fluid punching technique and carries devastating power in both hands.
The similarities don't stop there as so far 'Dynamite' Dubois is undefeated and after seven fights he has dispatched every opponent within three rounds much like Joshua had at the same stage of his career.
Where their paths diverge however is how they each chose to transition from the amateur ranks to professional boxing. Joshua once turned down an offer of £50,000 to turn professional early in his career so that he could chase Olympic glory and at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
He succeeded by claiming a gold medal whereas Dubois elected to turn professional and step into the savage world of heavyweight pro boxing at the tender age of 19, going back on his original decision to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
If he continues the form he has shown thus far when making the step up in quality to world level then these two men are surely on a collision course in a bout that would no doubt be short and spectacular.
#4 Jarrell Miller
Record: 20(18)-0-1
Next Fight: vs Johann Duhaupas on 28 April 2018
Brooklyn born 'Big Baby' Miller is another rising star of the heavyweight division who appears to be on the cusp of challenging for world honours. He is currently ranked in the top 10 heavyweights with three of the four major sanctioning bodies.
Those same three organisations each have their title belts on the line this Saturday when Parker meets Joshua in Cardiff. This makes it very likely that Miller will soon be in line to challenge whoever emerges victorious.
All he has to do is keep winning and keep knocking on the door of the heavyweight elite as he has done so far by calling out Joshua publicly, claiming he will be the one to expose the undefeated champion, and even attempting to invade the ring and confront Deontay Wilder after his victory over Luis Ortiz earlier this month.
These actions have not gone unnoticed by promoter Eddie Hearn who has claimed that should Joshua and Miller both win their upcoming bouts then a showdown in America awaits.
"Anything could happen - Jarrell Miller could be beaten [by Johann Duhaupas], we might fight Deontay Wilder next, the WBA might call their mandatory. If we box in America and it's not Wilder, Miller will be the perfect guy."
#3 Dillian Whyte
Record: 23(17)-1-0
Next Fight: To be decided
These two have met in a professional ring once before back in December 2015. The British heavyweight title was the prize at stake in what was a hugely entertaining bout, so why not do it again on the world stage?
At that time the two fighters were considered the hottest prospects in British heavyweight boxing and the rivalry itself can be traced back to their amateur days when Whyte floored Joshua on his way to a points victory over his domestic rival.
Joshua brought with him an unblemished 14-0 professional record with all of his victories coming by way of knockout whilst The Body Snatcher came into the fight with an impressive 16-0 record including 13 knockouts.
The genuine hatred between the two exploded in the ring as both men came out throwing with bad intentions from the opening bell. It was to be sweet revenge for Joshua that night as he claimed a stunning KO victory when he clipped Whyte with a sharp right hook in the seventh round which saw his opponent on unsteady legs before ending matters with a monster uppercut.
However, Joshua didn’t have things all his own way under the lights at the O2 Arena in London as Whyte was able to find success with lead right hands and gave him the first major scare of his professional career when he rocked AJ in the second round with a pinpoint left hook.
Whilst Joshua has carried his tear through the domestic scene in Britain over into the world scene and claimed two of the four major titles available, his Jamaican born rival has been rebuilding his momentum.
This past Saturday he knocked out the previously undefeated Lucas Browne in truly disturbing fashion as the Australian remained on the canvas for several minutes to receive treatment following a brutal Dillian Whyte left hook.
After the fight he set his sights on world champion Deontay Wilder urging the American to fight him in London this summer, he also reaffirmed his desire to get back into the ring with Joshua.
"Me and Joshua have got chemistry. When me and him step into the ring, sparks fly, we're like lifetime lovers."
I defy anyone who witnessed the first fight to make an argument against the two stepping into the ring to do it all over again.
#2 Tyson Fury
Record: 25(18)-0-0
Next Fight: To be decided
In case you hadn’t heard, The Furious One is on the comeback trail. Having been back in training since before the turn of the year he has shed much of the excess weight gained as a result of his well-documented personal issues during a two and a half year absence from the ring.
A battle of the two best British heavyweights has long been discussed and Fury has not exactly been shy when asked about the prospect. Recently he addressed the topic in his usual self-assured manner during an interview with Sky Sports.
"I opened the division up for all these heavyweights to have world titles. Joshua has been doing a good job of polishing my belts, keeping them nice and warm."
He went on to throw the gauntlet down to any heavyweight that may have the misfortune of meeting him in the ring on his journey towards recapturing his titles.
"Brendan Ingle once said, it's easy to beat Tyson Fury, very, very easy. Nail him to the canvas, because if you can't do that I'm going to eat you up, eat you all up. Deontay Wilder, Anthony Joshua, whoever else, I'm coming for you."
This confidence is not entirely unfounded as Fury would represent a unique challenge for Joshua. Even though he has fought taller men in the past, Joshua has never fought anyone who has held as big a height and reach advantage as the Mancunian boxer would hold.
Being that Fury's style has evolved to maximise these advantages over most men by opting to box at distance and utilise a fleet-footedness that appears incongruous when exhibited by a six foot nine heavyweight, it gives more than a little credence to those who claim that Fury would be too skilled for the man he claims is merely keeping warm his rightful titles.
#1 Deontay Wilder
Record: 40(39)-0-0
Next Fight: To be decided
With a combined record of 60-0 and 59 knockouts between them, it’s easy to see why this fight is so highly sought after among fight fans. If Joshua can add Parker's WBO title to his collection then a showdown with Wilder would have all four major world championship belts on the line.
The winner would walk away as the first heavyweight to ever hold all four of these belts at one time and become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 2000. It’s these types of facts and figures which make this fight a promoters dream and highly marketable to more than just hard-core boxing fans.
Like Joshua, the aptly named Wilder carries huge power in both hands and he is also known for his tendency of furiously winging wild, clubbing shots at his opponents when he has them hurt.
Outside of the ring, the brash and outspoken American strikes a stark contrast to Joshua's humble, well-groomed media image. The Bronze Bomber has been forthcoming with his opinions when asked about a potential fight between the two, speaking with the BBC recently this year he claimed,
"I don't think Joshua has enough confidence in himself to fight me. It's all on them. If he really wants it, he can make it happen."
Word travels quickly across the pond these days and the Brit has attempted to slap down the braggadocious American by responding accordingly,
"If he was serious about the fight, we'd do serious negotiation. If not, stop hooting and hollering because we'll just freeze him out."
Fortunately for fight fans, in the world of boxing money talks and with the marketability involved in a potential bout between the two it is a likely prospect that they will both sit down at the negotiating table and come to an agreement sooner rather than later.
