While being credited for his speed and power, Anthony Joshua has been accused of lacking any real punch resistance ahead of his expected clash with Tyson Fury.
The pair are set to finally collide in November, with New York having been named as the likely destination for their long-awaited heavyweight showdown.
This news follows their respective warm-up fights last month, when Fury turned in an uninspiring performance to stop the 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds.
Even less convincing, however, was Joshua’s display against Kristian Prenga, who entered their contest as a perceived low-risk opponent who, while boasting a 100% knockout-to-win ratio, had not faced any top-level heavyweights.
Yet despite this, the Albanian managed to floor his opponent within the first 20 seconds, before keeping ‘AJ’ on rubbery legs with another first-round knockdown.
In a dramatic turn of events, Joshua was then able to score a knockdown in the following three minutes, needing just one thudding right hand to draw the curtains on their mini barnburner.
Given everything that transpired in the opening round, though, many have observed that the 36-year-old’s punch resistance is almost shot to pieces.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, former world champion and Hall of Fame inductee Carl Froch expressed that very opinion with a little more colour than most.
“His punch resistance has gone. Yeah, AJ can punch hard. And he is fast, and he is dangerous. But he ain’t got it anymore. It’s not in the tank anymore.
“When you can’t take a punch, you’ve only got to get clipped on your way in – as we saw against Prenga – and it’s fight over.”
While perhaps lacking the necessary punch resistance to win a long, gruelling affair, Joshua’s speed and power should nonetheless make him a dangerous opponent for Fury in the early rounds.
