Posted on 03/12/2024
By: Sean Crose
It wasn’t all that long ago that former heavyweight multi titlist Anthony Joshua seemed like yesterday’s news. Dropping two in a row to skilled Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, the onetime toast of the heavyweight division looked as if he might be forever stuck on the margins. What a difference a single punch can make. Although he knocked UFC legend Francis Ngannou down twice within two rounds last Friday night in Saudi Arabia, it was the third and final knockdown of Ngannou that made the fight world truly start paying attention to Joshua again. Indeed, it was a frightening shot – one that rendered the rugged Ngannou unconscious.
Even MMA fans were impressed by Joshua’s destruction of the former UFC heavyweight kingpin. WBC head Mauricio Sulaiman was so blown away by Joshua’s performance last week that he has now announced, courtesy of Sky News, that his organization would approve of a fight between Joshua and the winner of the Tyson Fury-Oleksandr Usyk undisputed heavyweight championship saga. “We would absolutely accept the winner to fight Joshua,” Sulaiman said. So much for Joshua fading off into the figurative sunset after two tough goes against Usyk.
“It was unbelievable,” Sulaiman said of Joshua’s destruction of Ngannou. “He looked like a champion of the world – tremendous, powerful, precise and he made a statement. I am very proud and happy for him.” Indeed, Sulaiman pointed out that Joshua is no longer on the margins. “That is how the world is, they judge you by your last performance and now he is a power force and everybody is claiming he is the best heavyweight in the world, last year they were saying he was washed up.” Sure enough, no one’s saying Joshua is washed up anymore.
Of course Fury and Usyk have to actually square off before Joshua can take on the winner. What’s more, they’ve agreed to fight twice, so that the winner of this spring’s fight will be able to get a second chance in the near future. Should Usyk ultimately emerge victorious over the towering Fury, fans might not be keen on seeing him face Joshua a third time. Then again, it had been a while since Joshua looked like he did last Friday. Should Fury ultimately emerge victorious over Usyk, however, there’s no doubt that a fight between himself and fellow Englishman Joshua would be a massive affair, not only among British fans, but among fans the world over.