Anthony Joshua’s recent win against Robert Helenius seems to have paved the way for him to fight Deontay Wilder – and Teddy Atlas has made his pick for the winner.
He eventually found his range and delivered a superb right hand that sent ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ straight to the canvas, at which point the referee called the fight off immediately.
After months of speculation, his next opponent is now most likely to be Wilder, who himself knocked out Helenius in just one round in his last outing back in October 2022. Before that, he had back-to-back losses against Tyson Fury.
Atlas, a coach who once trained Mike Tyson and is now a respected analyst, was talking on his podcast in the aftermath of the heavyweight card in London and was asked what happens if Joshua and Wilder come to blows.
“One of two things. Wilder goes after him early. Wilder can’t fight but he can punch and he’s got heart. And so does Joshua. Wilder’s got heart. He’s got off the floor before, as Joshua has, but he’s taken a terrible beating off Fury that last two fights. I don’t know what he has left.
He went on to say that he see’s Joshua setting a trap, or Wilder coming on strong straight after the bell and not letting Joshua settle – but ultimately is backing the American to get the win.
“I think [Wilder] has a better chin than Joshua at the end of the day. He lands the punch first, it’ll be all over. Or, he’ll walk into something. Joshua knows how to counter.
His temperament is to counter, not be aggressive. He might catch Wilder coming in, or make him miss and counter him. Or Wilder uses that as long as a phone pole jab and sets up that right hand and catches Joshua.”
“It could go either way but I’ll wind up saying Wilder.”
It is now down to representatives of both fighters to get the deal over the line for Saudi Arabia in the New Year.