Former trainer turned podcaster Teddy Atlas is not afraid to weigh in with his assessment on current issues in boxing, and can often be brutal in doing so.
And one of Britain’s biggest stars was on the receiving end of of some flack from Atlas, who described him as “overrated.”
On a recent episode of The Fight, Atlas laid in to former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua following his fight against Robert Helenius, claiming talk of Joshua as a great fighter was “rubbish.”
“I know the British fans are a bit loopy for their fighters, but do you not see what I’ve been saying? He [Anthony Joshua] is overrated.”
It’s not personal, I say this about fighters wherever they’re from, if it’s to be said then I’m going to say it.
It’s rubbish to say that he’s a great fighter or ever was a great fighter. Who has he ever beaten to have the stature that he’s been given over there? His only real win was over a 40 + year old Klitschko, who dropped him.
For him to say that his back was hurting him from carrying the heavyweight division – are you kidding me? How are you people sat there allowing him to say that?”
Although he got the victory against late replacement Helenius earlier this month, many felt ‘AJ’s performance was a shaky one and did not offer much encouragement going into a potential fight with Deonay Wilder in the new year.
However, it is unclear whether the long awaited Wilder fight will happen next, with promoter Eddie Hearn floating the possibility that Joshua may fight another opponent in December.