Dave Allen was brutally honest in a recent interview regarding the current state of Anthony Joshua’s career, saying the former world champion does not have the same pulling power as in years gone by.
Speaking to SecondsOut, Allen praised the Watford man for the impact he’d had on boxing in the past, but admitted that he felt Joshua’s star power has dwindled somewhat.
He further stated that streaming service DAZN cannot solely rely on stars such as Joshua and Canelo Alvarez to recoup their well publicised financial losses.
“I think Joshua’s been great for boxing. But at this point, he’s not the superstar he was five or six years ago. I think if DAZN are pinning all hopes on Joshua and Canelo to get them out of trouble, then no way.”
Despite holding three of the four major heavyweight world titles just 18 months ago, Joshua seems to have been somewhat written off by a large potion of British fight fans and some even believe the 33 year old will never become world champion again.
With the announcement of Joshua’s comeback fight against Jermaine Franklin yesterday, DAZN also announced their monthly subscription price would be rising to a whopping £19.99 per month, with cheaper long term deals available.
The firm lost a staggering $2.3 billion in 2021, and this year could be pivotal for the long term future of the company.
As for Joshua, he still goes into the fight with Franklin on April 1st as a firm favourite, despite the impressive performance the American put up in defeat against Dillian Whyte last November.
A summer rematch in with Whyte seems to be the plan for ‘AJ,’ provided he does not come unstuck against Franklin in just under two month’s time.