Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko could provide heavyweight clarity
Anthony Joshua, the current IBF heavyweight titlist, could face Wladimir Klitschko this year after the former lineal champion’s rematch against Tyson Fury was once again derailed. A Joshua-Klitschko bout, while somewhat premature, could provide some clarity in the heavyweight division.
As heavyweight kingpin Tyson Fury’s public unravelling entered a new dimension with his positive test for cocaine, it’s time for boxing’s glamour division to move forward. Indeed, a fit, focused Fury (25-0, 18 KOs) is good for heavyweight prizefighting (strictly from an in-ring standpoint, mind you), but with an extended layoff looming, the landscape is open for emerging stars like Anthony Joshua to make major statements.
The Fury fiasco will have a domino effect. Wladimir Klitschko, of course, has been left in the lurch once again, and he’s now 40-years-old with his last bout having come in November of 2015; Klitschko (64-4, 53 KOs) understandably wants to get busy, and time is most certainly not on his side. With the dispersal of Fury’s sanctioning body belts, Klitschko will fight for a title immediately (as is his right).
Anthony Joshua was originally heading towards a showdown with mandatory challenger and fellow bluechip talent Joseph Parker, a compelling match-up that would have helped usher in the next era of heavyweight boxing. Now, it appears that Parker will face Andy Ruiz for the WBO title, further splintering the title as a fight against Joshua marinates.
Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitschko with at least one title belt on the line, though, is compelling. Yes, it perhaps feels somewhat premature, but the combination of Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) still needing to prove himself at the elite level and Klitschko having undoubtedly lost a step imbues the fight with legitimate intrigue.
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It’s a shame, however, that Tyson Fury is unfit to fight. Fury-Klitschko II was supposed to settle an important score that would have either seen the Ukrainian reclaim his throne or the brash Fury confirm that he’s the man to beat at heavyweight. This would have allowed Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker to battle for the mantle of best emerging talent, and a Joshua victory would have also provided an ideal segue to a domestic showdown against David Haye.
Some of these scenarios are still in play, and Tyson Fury is also young enough to theoretically return to the ring and make a significant impact. And a fight between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko now does have important, far-reaching implications at heavyweight; the fight would be both a referendum on whether Klitschko has anything left and a litmus test to gauge whether Joshua is as sensational as the proverbial eye test suggests.
Joshua taking on Klitschko in November is a marquee fight, and boxing too often falls into the trap of delaying logical match-ups. Anthony Joshua is a top-five heavyweight, and Wladimir Klitschko’s sterling record justifies his chance to take another immediate run at the division’s throne. If the fight can be made immediately after the yearlong mess Tyson Fury has caused, why wait?
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