Trainer and analyst, Teddy Atlas, believes two of the sport’s biggest names are overrated.
Boxing is enjoying an extended period in the spotlight, with more money than ever being injected into promotions and fighters’ purses. Two names that command some of the biggest audiences are Saul ‘Canelo’ Álvarez and Anthony Joshua.
Atlas – who had a part to play in the early days of Mike Tyson’s career – believes that both men have been overbuilt in relation to what they can do in the ring, though. In a video dedicated to branding Joshua overrated, he mentioned undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo, too.
“Like Canelo, he’s overrated – and maybe we expect too much. But the fans, you can overrate them because you’re fans. You can drink that lemonade, whatever it is they sell over there in the UK. That’s fine. I get it. But we ain’t drinking it, and I’m definitely not drinking it, because my job is to analyse this stuff.
This is a guy that they put him up on this high pedestal, but who did he beat? He beat Charles Martin to win the heavyweight title. He got dropped by a 42-year-old Klitschko … He defended his title against guys like Dominic Breazeale, who got knocked out in one or two rounds by Wilder … Eric Moline, Carlos Takam.”
The Mexican champ is 58-2-2 in a career with championships in four weight classes and, in the minds of many, a Hall of Fame place waiting for him in the future.
His 2022 wasn’t the best, though – a loss to Dmitry Bivol in an ambitious jump up to light heavyweight and a decision victory over a past-his-prime Gennady Golovkin.
Back to the heavyweight target of his video, Atlas believes ‘AJ’ won’t face Deontay Wilder or Joe Joyce – two names of three that fans want to see him in with before retirement, the other being Tyson Fury.
The two-time world champion has the same list, although looks set to face Dillian Whyte in a rematch before stepping in with the first of the above.
He recently got back to winning ways with a unanimous decision victory over America’s Jermaine Franklin – a dominant performance, but one that left plenty of fans and pundits underwhelmed.