Everyone you spoke to ahead of Saturday’s hastily arranged showdown with Robert Helenius agreed on one thing: Anthony Joshua had to get the job done in style.
Even against an awkward late replacement, only a spectacular knockout would do. It was time to do away with the tentative, perhaps gun-shy Joshua of recent outings.
To adopt the language of the well-worn internet meme, get you a man who can do both.
Joshua did indeed find the showreel finish, jabbing to the body to bring the target into range before detonating a brutal right hand on Helenius’ chin in round seven. There was no need for a count.
But in the action prior to that, there was plenty of ammunition for those who have concluded Joshua will never be the same fighter as the man who entered the ring in Madison Square Garden to face Andy Ruiz Jr in June 2019 and left without his world titles and unbeaten record.
The sight of Joshua still performing a little hesitantly under new coach Derrick James, with some reluctance to get on the front foot and scant evidence of the multi-punch combinations that lit up boxing’s glamor division half a decade ago is of greater concern when you consider what is purportedly up next.
MORE: Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius full card results: Joshua knocks out Helenius
Who will Anthony Joshua fight next?
If all goes to plan, Joshua and Deontay Wilder will split a gargantuan purse of $110 million (£87m) when their long-awaited heavyweight blockbuster lands in Saudi Arabia next January.
Looking at most snap takes of that contest on the back of the weekend action and a fight that many considered to be a 50-50 matchup is now weighted heavily in Wilder’s favor. It’s hard to find any good judges backing Joshua with much confidence.
Therefore, it feels worthwhile to ask what Wilder has done to be installed as such a hot favorite The past four years have been a grueling struggle for Joshua, with three defeats, three chief trainers and three major world title belts lost (twice).
This means a lot of the analysis of a still-hypothetical Joshua vs Wilder showdown is focused on Joshua and what he is and isn’t doing. This has caused Wilder’s stock to rise in inverse proportion and this feels unfair on the Briton.
So let’s throw the spotlight back onto Wilder. Why would you pick him to beat Joshua?
What happened when Deontay Wilder fought Tyson Fury?
The obvious answer is the Bronze Bomber’s freakish power, a trait that has seen his right hand compared favorably to any heavyweight in the sport’s rich history. Perhaps that power has blinded us slightly to the realities of Wilder’s body of work, or lack thereof, over recent years.
Two weeks before Joshua’s world came crashing down against Ruiz, Wilder iced former AJ foe Dominic Breazeale inside a round. A seventh-round KO win in his rematch against Luis Ortiz in November 2019 — just like in the first fight against the Cuban veteran, Wilder was behind on the cards — set up a return against Tyson Fury.
That February 2020 defeat to Fury was every bit as damaging to Wilder’s aura as Joshua’s disrobing against Ruiz. Fury’s quicksilver skills befuddling the American for large chunks of their controversially drawn first encounter was not exactly a surprise. The Gypsy King walking down Wilder and beating him up was an utterly jaw-dropping spectacle.
Wilder came out of their third fight with credit, but that was largely on account of the immense bravery he showed. Take a dramatic round four out of the equation, when a groggy Wilder shook off a knockdown in the third to send Fury to the mat twice, and it was another battering.
For all Fury's considerable talents, he is not a noted power puncher. He floored Wilder five times over the course of fights two and three, each of which ended inside the distance. And yet, all the questions being asked tend now to revolve around Joshua's chin rather than acknowledging he will be the biggest puncher Wilder has ever faced.
Put simply, over the past four years, Wilder has barely won a completed round.
By the time next January rolls around, his one-round blowout against Helenius in October 2022 will be his only outing in 26 months. Prior to poleaxing Helenius himself, Joshua banked three successive 12-rounders.
A signature style that depends on timing and explosiveness to offset a skill deficit when compared to others at leading heavyweights — Joshua included — could very well be compromised by inactivity and the fact Wilder turns 38 this October.
MORE: Get the new Anthony Joshua out, bring back AJ for Deontay Wilder collision
What is Deontay Wilder’s best win?
Talking of that much-vaunted power, who is its most notable victim? Perhaps it’s the aging Ortiz, or maybe the less-rotund version of Bermane Stiverne that Wilder beat to first lift the WBC title in 2015.
Comparing rival resumes is riven with pitfalls but, if you’ll indulge, Joshua’s wins over Dillian Whyte, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Ruiz in their rematch and Kubrat Pulev would all stand as Wilder’s best.
Of course, Wilder’s right hand could very well have settled all of those mythic match-ups in his favor, but it does leave us in the curious situation of an older, inactive fighter being viewed as a heavy favorite against a more skillful boxer who has consistently faced better opposition.
There are other factors to consider. Joshua has spoken about how he lost his love for boxing a little in the aftermath of the second Usyk fight and signs of the considerable mental strain on a man who has grown up in the spotlight have been easy to see.
We’re back to inverse proportion because this has led plenty of commentators to conclude Wilder has a psychological edge despite that fact he has also struggled to hold things together lately.
Will Deontay Wilder beat Anthony Joshua?
Instead of taking the first Fury defeat with good grace, Wilder heavily insinuated the new champion had cheated and apportioned some of the blame for the loss to the heavy armored costume he wore for the ringwalk.
Wilder going out on his shield in the trilogy meeting spoke to the soul and gut of boxing aficionados in a way Joshua looking like a man who had lost his shield and his car keys against Ruiz did not. But fast forward to his quick time win over Helenius and the scars of the Fury ordeal were visible.
At the post-fight press conference, Wilder broke down in tears when contemplating the manner in which he left the Finn on the canvas. An understandable reaction when you consider the brutal realities of his trade, but Wilder has previously spoken in sickening terms about the prospect of having a “body” on his record. How was this the same guy?
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius highlights on DAZN
Joshua and Wilder have both changed since the days they were swaggering, undefeated champions — the days when this fight really should have happened. That doesn't mean it can't be a spectacular fight. Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier were each on the downslope by the time they arrived in Manila and that didn't exactly harm the spectacle.
Right now, only Joshua has his blemishes under the microscope of post-fight analysis, while Wilder's legend continues to grow away from prying eyes and the bright lights.
The reality in Saudi Arabia will be a 38-year-old power-puncher who has fought one round in two years after suffering two more physically punishing defeats than Joshua ever has.
Of course Wilder can knock Joshua out. He can knock anyone out. But writing off AJ when you place the two fighters’ attributes, careers and recent performances alongside one another is quite fantastical foolishness.
