4 Best Opponents for Anthony Joshua After Win vs. Robert Helenius
August 12, 20234 Best Opponents for Anthony Joshua After Win vs. Robert Helenius
It's good to be Anthony Joshua. Again.
The two-time former heavyweight title claimant has been attempting to rebuild a once-preeminent brand since the second of two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk last summer.
The 6'6" Englishman was intermittently impressive in outpointing fringe contender Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena in April, then returned to the popular London venue on Saturday night for step two in the process—a one-punch, seventh-round KO over late sub Robert Helenius.
A 39-year-old who fights out of Finland, Helenius stepped in early in the week when Joshua's intended opponent, Dillian Whyte, was removed after failing a pre-fight drug test. Helenius had last been widely seen falling in less than a round to Deontay Wilder last October, but he was actually active last weekend, stopping countryman Mika Mielonen in three.
It was all about Joshua this time around, though, and the 33-year-old's second straight post-Usyk win keeps him square in the middle of any big-event discussion at heavyweight.
That was all the reason the B/R combat team needed to wade into the discourse with a list of possible foes for Joshua's next, or next few fights. Take a look at what we came up with and drop a thought or two of your own in the comments.
Deontay Wilder
Every list of possible opponents has one who sticks out.
And for Anthony Joshua, that one opponent is Deontay Wilder.
The two Olympic medalists shared space professional space atop the heavyweight division during each of Joshua's two reigns with the IBF, WBA and WBO belts, while Wilder was the green-belted WBC claimant running up a string of 10 straight title defenses.
There was intermittent talk of a match back then, but, this being boxing, it never occurred.
Both men's stars have fallen since respective losses to current champs Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury, but subsequently successful returns against Helenius have ratcheted the volume for an elimination showdown that'd pave the way for a renewed title push.
Wilder, for one, is all in.
"The biggest fight in the world is not {Tyson Fury], it's me versus Anthony Joshua," Wilder told TMZ Sports. "That's still the biggest fight in the world. Everywhere I go, people talk about that fight. That's the one that they want to see."
Tyson Fury
As second choices go, the consensus heavyweight champion isn't so bad.
Like Wilder before him, there was loud chatter of Joshua meeting countryman Tyson Fury after Fury had taken the American's WBC belt in February 2020.
In fact, the two soon agreed to a two-fight series in which the principals would split the purse down the middle in the opener before the winner took a 60-40 share for the rematch.
Needless to say, the deal never got done.
Wilder upset the apple cart by exercising his own contractual option for a third fight with Fury, which left Joshua to bide time with a defense against Oleksandr Usyk, who'd moved into the division after claiming undisputed four-belt status at cruiserweight.
The very fact that Joshua is in career rebuilding mode these days should indicate to anyone unaware just how badly that time-biding experience went. Instead of serving as a smaller, non-threatening speed bump, the Ukrainian instead ran his befuddled foe through a pair of boxing clinics, winning decisions 11 months apart to win the trio of title trinkets.
Interest in a Fury-Joshua fight has hardly evaporated, though, and no less an authority Frazer Clarke, yet another British Olympic medalist who's turned pro, suggested before the Helenius win that it'd be back to the top of the agenda sooner than later.
"He's a performance away from being back in the conversation," Clarke told Sky Sports.
"Last time out against Jermaine Franklin it was a solid performance. It didn't set the world alight or do anything to make you think he'd bash [up] Tyson Fury or Usyk. But he's one performance away from having people demanding the Fury fight next."
Joe Joyce
If Wilder is the grand prize, all others are of the consolation variety.
But if Joshua winds up in a ring with Joe Joyce, it won't be as if no one cares.
Joyce is another British-based super heavyweight in need of career restoration, in his case in the aftermath of a sixth-round TKO loss in April to Zhilei Zhang—a defeat that came officially when the ringside physician stopped the fight due to damage to Joyce's right eye.
Joyce had gone 15-0 with 14 KOs across five-plus years prior to the defeat, which he'll try to avenge with a September rematch at the Wembley Arena in London.
Assuming he's able to reverse the original result, and on the off chance, this being boxing, that the best-laid plans with Wilder and/or Fury fall through, don't be surprised if Joyce is suggested as a foil for a high-profile, All-British showdown.
The two fought as amateurs and have shared a sparring ring as well, and they began engaging one another on social media last year when Joshua replied to a fan who'd questioned whether Joshua would actually take a fight with a then-unbeaten Joyce.
Joyce replied with an indication he'd surely be interested and a rivalry was born.
Stay tuned.
Daniel Dubois
It's not the most likely scenario, but it would be an attractive one.
Daniel Dubois is the holder of the WBA's uber-dubious "world" title at heavyweight, which puts him in prime position these days to challenge "super" champion Usyk to a unification of sorts that's scheduled for Wroclaw, Poland later this month.
Usyk is a huge favorite according to the good folks at DraftKings, and, if Usyk wins, never mind. Because a third Joshua fight at this point is needless.
But if Dubois wins, things change. Dramatically.
Because he'd suddenly hold the trio of recognized belts that Joshua once owned, and the fact that he's also a British-based fighter would instantly elevate him to the top of the list thanks to both divisional significance and geographic proximity.
Promoter Frank Warren weighed in on the would-be matchup and suggested it'd be a career-defining matchup for his man, Dubois, who's won four straight by KO since his lone loss to, off all people, Joyce, by 10th-round TKO in 2020.
"I fancy him against anybody," Warren told iFL TV. "He's a big, big puncher. He can box as well, he's got a great jab. I honestly think him and Joshua ... I think he—Joshua—is made for [Dubois]. My personal comment on that is I think he's made for him."