Former lightweight champion, Anthony Crolla, reflected on Anthony Joshua’s performance and future in the game on Betfred’s Lightweight Boxing Show.
Recapping the fight, the former lightweight champion praised AJ’s improvements against a ‘future hall-of-famer.’
“I thought it was a much-improved performance. I thought it was a fantastic heavyweight fight, but understandably we talk about what went on after the fight a lot more than the actual fight which is a shame really.”
“I thought he [Joshua] targeted the body really well. He had a great round 9 … and then Usyk went and done what all great champions are capable of doing, and bit down on the gum shield, came out and finished the fight fantastically. His round 10 was amazing and he proved why he’s going to be a future hall-of-famer.”
When it comes to what’s next for the former Unified Heavyweight Champion and Olympic Gold Medallist in Joshua, Crolla neither thinks he should nor will retire.
“He [Joshua] lost a close fight to one of the very best fighters on the planet in Oleksandr Usyk, but there’s still huge fights out there for him. I think it’s been well documented that he’s had a huge deal with DAZN, so he is going to fight on, you’d really expect him to fight on.”
“I believe there will be less pressure on Anthony Joshua. It’s a little bit of a rebuilding process for him but, again, there’s no shame. He lost to a great fighter.”
Onto opponents, and ‘Million Dolla’ Crolla fancies AJ to face another heavyweight who was on the bill in Saudi.
“Domestically, there’s Dillian Whyte, and I know Derek’s name has been mentioned. There’s some top fights there in the heavyweight division. I think, for me – his name’s been mentioned and a lot of people thought he did enough against Hrgovic – Zhang [Zhilei]. That’s a huge fight that could be made.”
With Joshua himself seeming to dismiss any talk of retirement, perhaps we won’t have to wait long to find out who he’ll next stand toe-to-toe with in the ring.
You can watch the full show below: