2023-08-05 18:42:39
Will Eddie Hearn find a replacement opponent for Anthony Joshua on August 12?
Hearn looking for a new opponent for Anthony Joshua. Will it be Hrgovic or just Chisora?
Anthony Joshua is now without an opponent for next Saturday after his fight against Dillian Whyte was called off earlier today.
Dillian Whyte returned “unfavorable analytical results” in a VADA drug test, promoter Eddie Hearn announced this Saturday, a week before the fight was due to take place at the O2 Arena in London, England.
Anthony Joshua looking for an opponent.
Hearn is, by his own admission, scrambling to find an alternative opponent for AJ, who faces a possible $60 million fight with Deontay Wilder in December or January next year in Saudi Arabia.
Anthony Joshua faced a similar problem in 2019 when his world title challenger Jarrell Miller, two months before his US debut in New York’s Madison Square Garden, was out due to a positive drug test and then dubbed Andy Ruiz Jr. as Substitute opponent was signed and then knocked out Joshua and took the world title from him.
Dillian Whyte ruled out of Anthony Joshua fight after testing positive
But now, just seven days before the rematch against Dillian Whyte was scheduled to take place at the O2 Arena in London, Joshua has few opponents to choose from as substitutes for the self-disqualified Dillian Whyte.
In addition, Joshua prepared in his training camp solely focused on his previous opponent Dillian Whyte.
However, one possible option would be IBF No. 1 heavyweight title contender Filip Hrgovic.
The Croatian was set to face undefeated Australian Demsey McKean on the Joshua vs Whyte undercard.
Undefeated Croatian Filip Hrgovic fights 22-fight unbeaten Australian Demsey Kean. He would be the best “substitute opponent”, but Eddie Hearn and AJ will never accept him.
Another heavyweight who should appear on the undercard is 39-year-old veteran Derek Chisora, who grew up at the same training camp with Joshua and has been close friends since.
After Dereck Chisora had won just one of his last five fights, including a KO loss to Tyson Fury in December last year, “Del Boy” was set to face Gerald Washington at the O2 Arena next Saturday.
Hrgovic’s opponent, the Australian Demsey McKean, undefeated in 22 fights, would also be an option, but McKean is a southpaw and Joshua would certainly not accept him without several weeks of preparation for a southpaw, especially since McKean has already been a Joshua opponent in the There was a conversation and the fight didn’t take place after all.
Dereck Chisora is scheduled to box against the American Gerald Washington on the fight card on August 12 in London’s O2 Arena, he would probably be the only opponent who could be considered as a substitute opponent. .
That leaves the Croatian Filip Hrgovic, the No. 1 in the IBF and the official challenger to World Champion Oleksandr Usyk. Hrgovic previously agreed to face Joshua when Hearn and AJ were scouting. But even then Eddie Hearn waved it off. A fight between Anthony Joshua and Filip Hrgovic would certainly be rated much higher in terms of the quality of the fight than the original fight between Joshua and Whyte.
While Filip Hrgovic would most certainly accept the fight against Joshua, with a hefty sum of course to his purse which he would pocket for the fight against McKean, it is almost certain that both Eddie Hearn and AJ would never consider the strong Croatian as a replacement – Opponents would accept for Dillian Whyte. Because both know how dangerous Hrgović is, who could knock out Joshua in his current condition. Because AJ is not the same boxer he was a few years ago when he knocked out Wladimir Klitscho in a spectacular fight.
Eddie Hearn faces a big problem today. He is looking for a new opponent for Anthony Joshua.
But if it’s not McKean and Hrgovic, then it can only be Dereck Chisora. The ‘Del Boy’ would be an easy and doable task for Anthony Joshua, and he wouldn’t jeopardize his 60m fight with Deontay Wilder either. It would also be very important that two Englishmen would box against each other again, as was the case in the Joshua vs. Whyte fight, which then guaranteed that the O2 Arena was sold out after hours. The sporting value of such a fight would be in question, because Chisora, with his 39 years and the many hard fights, is now totally ‘over the hills’ and he should hang up his gloves very quickly. But the English love Chisora and with him as a substitute opponent, hardly anyone would give back the ticket they had already bought.
For Agit Kabayel, a fight against Anthony Joshua would be the chance of a lifetime and a million dollar stock market beckons.
Perhaps our German European champion Agit Kabayel is still in training, because he was shortlisted to become Anthony Joshua’s opponent before Dillian Whyte accepted. That would really be the great opportunity for Agit and certainly the highest exchange of his career.
Filip Hrgovic vs. McKean Fight-Poster.
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