Anthony Joshua needs to do more to promote himself and raise his popularity once again – that’s the view of boxing pundit Spencer Oliver.
Ticket sales, or lack thereof, for Joshua’s comeback bout against Jermaine Franklin have been a hot topic in recent weeks, with plenty of seats still available at the 02 Arena, with the fight less than a month away.
Speaking on TalkSPORT about the lack of ticket sales, Oliver stated that he believes ‘AJ’ needs to do more to combat the decline in his profile.
“It’s about self promotion these days. The journey’s been a long one, and Anthony Joshua has gone silent”.
“He needs to start putting himself out a little bit to start create the interest again, to get people back on the Joshua train.”
Joshua was once far and away the biggest commercial draw in the sport, and the idea of him even fighting at a smaller venue such as the O2 would have been hard to believe.
However, three defeats in five fights may have seen the “casual” sports fan turn their back on Joshua, especially given the increased success of Tyson Fury in a similar timeframe.
The fight against Franklin on April 1 is considered make or break for Joshua – with defeat all but guaranteed to spell an end to any ambitions of becoming a three time world heavyweight champion.
The American gave a solid account of himself in defeat to Dillian Whyte last November, however Joshua still goes into the contest as a firm favourite as he looks to kickstart some momentum back into his career
It will be AJ’s first outing under new trainer Derrick James, who many feel is the perfect man to bring out the aggressive style that brought the former Olympian so much success in his earlier career.