Anthony Joshua’s old amateur coach, Sean Murphy, has assessed whether ‘AJ’ still has the mental strength to compete at the top level.
The 36-year-old’s mentality has been a divisive discussion point throughout his career, especially after his fifth-round stoppage defeat to Daniel Dubois in September 2024.
Back then, no one could question the heart he showed to keep climbing off the canvas, even after getting seriously hurt by the hard-hitting Dubois on multiple occasions.
In terms of his mentality, it was, rather, a case of fans wondering whether Joshua could recover from the trauma of enduring such a beating.
Eventually, the Londoner did return to action – albeit against Jake Paul – and encountered minimal difficulty as he engineered a sixth-round finish last December.
Since then, though, concerns over his mentality have again been raised after he was involved in a car crash that took the lives of his two close friends.
Many even felt this trauma played a role in his subsequent outing against Kristian Prenga, who scored two knockdowns only to be dropped and stopped in round two of their July encounter.
But while many have called for him to retire, coach Murphy has told The Stomping Ground that he still views Joshua as a top-level heavyweight.
“He’s going to know when his time is up. He’s got to have that mentality of: I’m going into every fight and I’m going to win every fight. And he still thinks that – I know he does.
“I think he’s got a lot more left to offer. He ain’t been in hundreds [of fights and] he don’t get bashed up. The couple of ones he’s lost, I feel he could’ve won those fights.
“For one reason or another, things didn’t work out, but, after the [Andy] Ruiz one, look how he came back stronger than ever. If he puts his mind to it … he can beat any of the top heavyweights.”
Murphy went on to suggest that, even against someone like Moses Itauma, Joshua has the power to change any fight with just one punch.
