Boxing great Lennox Lewis isn’t entirely convinced by Anthony Joshua despite the former heavyweight champion’s win over Otto Wallin.
Watching the ‘Day of Reckoning’ event, the last undisputed world titleholder discussed the victory with TNT Sports.
Lewis, a compatriot of Joshua’s, stated the win wasn’t enough to prove AJ can defeat the winner of Tyson Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk.
Lennox Lewis on Anthony Joshua
“I couldn’t really judge with this fight if he’s back or not,” Lewis said on the TNT broadcast from Riyadh Season. “He definitely looked good, but he did what he was supposed to do.
“Wallin didn’t have any definition in his body. I don’t know if he worked hard in training.”
He added: “I think it does good for Joshua’s mental state, and everybody’s saying he’s back, but there’s still a long road ahead. He’s still got to go up against Tyson Fury.
“For this fight, he did well.”
"He's still got to go up against Tyson Fury." – Lennox Lewis believes there's still an opportunity to make Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua 🤞 #DayofReckoning pic.twitter.com/X96r4LCNgy
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) December 24, 2023
That is a far cry from what Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, bellowed after the Wallin win.
“He’s back, he’s back. I believe that this Anthony Joshua is the best heavyweight in the world. In this mindset, with this team, I think he’s unbeatable. 2024 is going to be a massive year for him.”
On what’s next for AJ, Hearn added: “We signed for Wilder. He lost tonight. Maybe it’s a blessing because AJ wants to become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
“It’s going to be AJ vs Hrgovic for the world title.”
Joshua vs Fury or Usyk
Speaking to talkSPORT, Hearn outlined that Joshua may not have long left in the sport.
“I never like to put a timescale on his career, but he did the other day when he said, ‘You know, I won’t be boxing in three [or] five years.”
“So, maybe we’ve got one in December, and perhaps we’ll have a couple of blockbusters next year. And then, who knows? I don’t think he really has a time in his career.
“I am Anthony Joshua’s number one fan. In my head, call me deluded. He’s going to knock out Tyson Fury.
“He’s going to become the undisputed heavyweight world champion, and then we will sail off into the sunset. Like I said, call me deluded, whatever you want. I don’t care what you call me!
“I see it. We have the vision for that. Let’s make it happen.”
Fury vs Usyk is slated for February 17. After that, Joshua will know more about what his world title future holds.
