Anthony Joshua’s career is coming to a close but there’s only one fight out there for him and that’s Tyson Fury but questions remain over what happens next for the former Olympic gold medalist

Anthony Joshua has had to delay any ring return further due to elbow surgery. With his body starting to creak, some may say it’s time to rest that elbow up long term along with those hands which have changed his life forever. Yet when he spoke last week about the operation, it was about getting his body ready for another go at the heavyweight division.

At 35 and with enough millions in the bank to ensure his grandchildren won’t see a poor day, the man on the street can’t comprehend why fighters put themselves through this. The arduous recovery from surgery, the rehabilitation with the physios, then the working back up to fitness. That’s before he will even start getting punched in the head again by 18st blokes.

Joshua has nothing left to prove. He’s an Olympic gold medallist and a two-time world heavyweight champion. There is another life when he’s now either locked up in prison or dicing with death by dealing drugs in Watford or north London.

Yet here is he is richer beyond his wildest dreams with sporting success secured and a legacy of taking boxing back to the stadiums in this country and to the masses. But boxers have something inherently wrong with them. Amateur boxing is a craft and a skill.

Professional boxing can be that, too. But it is also brutal. It’s not normal to want at any stage in life to be hit with big shots to the head and then return them to another human being. Yet it’s that desire and hunger to fight for yourself as to why Joshua got away from those streets where his life was set for criminality.

There’s something different about fighters that we cannot fathom. An addiction to the bright lights and the cheer of the crowd? Maybe but there’s something always in so many of them that makes them want to fight on too long.

→ Swipe to see more articles

Related Posts

Travis Barker BREAKS the Internet with First-Ever Photos of Baby Rocky — Fans in Tears Over Mother’s Day Surprise for Kourtney!

Tyson Fury Causes a Storm with “Proof” of Comeback Vowing to End Joshua’s Career in a Top Heavyweight Clash!

Taylor Swift SNUBS Met Gala in Bold Move — And It’s NOT Because of Kim K!

Catfight Erupts! Kim Explodes at Kourtney in Vicious Showdown: ‘She’s a F—ing Bitch!’

Sonny Bill Williams attacks Paul Gallen over drugs in sport and accuses him of a shocking act with his former NRL teammates as rivals hammer each other ahead of footy fight night

LIVE TV ERUPTION: Fox News’ The Five Shattered by Explosive On-Air Feud Over Controversial Judicial Appointment—When Justice, Loyalty, and Ego Collided in Front of Millions, One Host Called It “Judicial Theater,” Another Responded With “Just Jealousy,” While Dana Perino’s Chilling Silence and Piercing Stare Spoke Volumes—What Sparked the Backstage Meltdown, Why Legal Experts Are Alarmed, and the Secret Off-Camera Moments Everyone’s Whispering About—A Stunning Broadcast Breakdown That Exposes Deep Divides Within Fox, Raises Questions About Media Bias, and Leaves Viewers Wondering: Is This the Moment The Five Will Never Recover From?

Those around Joshua should be telling him to walk away now but he won’t listen even if they tried. Certainly not when there’s still huge money on the table and the chance to settle a rivalry with Tyson Fury.

Joshua lost his last fight against Daniel Dubois ( 
Image:
Getty Images)
The pair have been great servants to British heavyweight boxing. They’ve both reigned as two-time world champions in the sport’s glamour division. But now both are well into their 30s with plenty of miles on the clock. There should be just one farewell fight between them to settle old rivalries before hanging them up.

It won’t be the sporting contest it would have been five years ago when both were at the very top of their game. But the build-up will be brilliant, Fury will make it a show with his witty one-liners and Joshua’s threats back will be chilling.

The public will lap it up. If Chris Eubank Jr and Conor Benn can sell, then Fury against Joshua will have no trouble. For while the two British heavyweights have been shown up to be below the level of Oleksandr Usyk, they’re still elite sporting stars unlike the sons of the former legends who tussled it out in an entertaining if not classic clash recently.

Fury is ready to fight Joshua if deal done ( 
Image:
Richard Pelham/Getty Images)

Whoever is the victor when Fury and Joshua meet – and they will meet at some point in the next 12 months – then that should be the end of both of them. What a way to go out in front of a packed Wembley Stadium for two fighters who have transcended the sport to become superstars?

Yet they’re both fighters. There will still be a desire to prove doubters wrong for the loser and go back to the top table for the winner.

That will never leave them. Not even when they’re sitting in the pub in 20 years time telling everyone about their great nights. Boxers are just built differently.