Anthony Joshua was on the receiving end of some criticism for his performance in his comeback outing against Jermaine Franklin back in April, when he boxed his way to a decision victory.
Critics called into question Joshua’s mentality following the fight at the 02 Arena, with the words ‘tentative’ and ‘gunshy’ appearing in a plethora of post fight reviews.
Pundits have cast doubts over Joshua’s appetite for battle that have lingered for the past couple of years, saying even that he did not look his old aggressive self in consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.
On a recent appearance on The Breakfast Club, highly rated, two weight world champion, Shakur Stevenson, gave his assessment on Joshua’s current standing, admitting he feels the Brit has a “heart problem.”
“With him, I think he’s got a heart problem.
Usyk is a little guy, and he’s supposed to impose his will. But he didn’t impose his will.
I think he has got potential though.”
Those in the ‘AJ’ business will hope and pray he and his team solve any such problems in double quick time, with back to back fights against Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder in the second half of this year appearing to be a real possibility.
Skill Challenge Entertainment have been brash and open about their desire to stage a mammoth December fight between Joshua and Wilder in Saudi Arabia, which could even land on the same monster card as an undisputed showdown between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
However, those plans would quickly fall apart if Joshua suffers defeat in his interim fight in August, for which old rival Whyte looks to be the frontrunner.