In what has to be viewed as cause for concern, the WBA has dropped Anthony Joshua to #5 in their top 15 boxing rankings ahead of his second fight against IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk in April.
If you’re promoter Eddie Hearn, you have to be worried about seeing Joshua (24-2, 22 KOs) downgraded to the #5 spot, below the likes of Hughie Fury, Michael Hunter, and Robert Helenius.
Oh my, how things have changed. Several years ago, the World Boxing Association would have never considered for a moment in placing Joshua below Hughie, Hunter, or Helenius in their rankings.
However, AJ’s losses to Andy Ruiz Jr. and Oleksandr Usyk in the last three years have resulted in him being lowered in the WBA’s rankings.
You can believe that Joshua will continue to be downgraded by the WBA if he loses his April rematch against the unbeaten Usyk (19-0, 13 KOs), which most boxing fans believe will be the case.
The WBA’s rankings for January 2022:
1. Daniel Dubois
2. Michael Hunter
3. Robert Helenius
4. Hughie Fury
5. Anthony Joshua
6. Deontay Wilder
7. Agit Kabayel
8. Arslanbek Makhmudov
9. Zhan Kossobutskiy
10. Martin Bakole
There’s no argument with this writer in seeing Daniel Dubois at #1 and Joshua at #5. Based on how Joshua has looked since 2019, Dubois would likely make easy work of him.
As hard as the 6’5″ Dubois hits, it’s challenging to imagine Joshua being able to take more than a tiny handful of his best shots before he drops for the ten count.
Joshua ranked below Hughie Fury and Micheal Hunter is a sign that all is not well with the 2012 Olympic gold medalist’s once-flourishing career.
Some fans might have an issue with the 27-year-old Hughie (26-3, 15 KOs) being ranked above Joshua in the WBA’s rankings, but if you’ve seen the improvements the 6’6″ Fury has made in his game in turns of his punching power in his last three fights, you’d agree that he is a better fighter now than AJ.
In Hughie’s last three fights, he’s shown excellent power in stopping Christian Hammer and Mariusz Wach. Hughie is sitting down on his shots better, and he’s finally getting his man strength now that he’s in his late 20s.
Joshua enjoyed tremendous success during better times, beating fighters like Wladimir Klitschko, Alexander Povetkin, Joseph Parker, Dillian Whyte, and Charles Martin.
But as Joshua has hit his 30s, he’s now losing fights left and right, and showing glaring flaws in his game that won’t be easily fixed by any trainer.
He’s currently hunting for a new guru to right his sinking ship. Still, there may not be a trainer alive that can magically transform Joshua into the fighter he needs to be for him to keep his career from collapsing entirely.
If Joshua loses to Usyk, it’s difficult to know where he can go from here. Yeah, Hearn can keep Joshua’s career going by feeding him bottom feeders in the top 15 in the heavyweight division.
Joshua getting beaten by Andy Ruiz Jr, who is arguably a fringe-level fighter in terms of talent, suggests that AJ will be at risk against even the lower-ranked fighters in the division.
A second defeat to Usyk will leave Hearn no choice but to begin matching Joshua against sub-level heavyweights to keep fans from losing interest in watching his fights.
What could befoul Hearn’s efforts to save Joshua’s career is if AJ wants to be the boss and insist on fighting only the best. You can argue that Joshua is the one behind the rematch with Usyk.
It’s never a good idea for a fighter to take charge of their career when they’re floundering like Joshua. If you’re Joshua, you got to let Hearn steer you to safer waters so that you can continue to bring in money.
