Nothing is going the way Anthony Joshua wants it to, at least in recent times. Following his shocking loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019, AJ suffered back-to-back losses to the now-invincible Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua seemed to get back in form with four straight wins, but then suffered a brutal setback, getting knocked out by Daniel Dubois in the fifth round a year ago at Wembley Stadium.
For 2025, Joshua wanted to get back to big fights despite the Dubois loss. A mega bout against Tyson Fury seemed like a sure thing, but The Gypsy King remains “retired” and Joshua is in limbo. While the rest of his boxing career is up in the air, his legacy is also being questioned now.
Anthony Joshua ranked 49th in Boxing News’ Power 50 list
Boxing News came out with a list of the Top 50 most powerful figures in the sport at the moment. Joshua came in at No. 49, almost missing out on the list entirely. That ranking has enraged a member of Dubois’ team, manager Sam Jones. Back in August, Jones joined Dubois’ team in an advisory role. When he caught wind of the list, Jones became enraged.
“Anthony Joshua at #49 is an insult, mate. He’s top five, top 10. The least you can put him is top 10. He’s carried British boxing – with Tyson Fury as well, Tyson’s been huge as well – but Anthony Joshua could pack a stadium out now if he wanted to. That’s influence on British boxing, that’s called influence. AJ, you can’t disrespect him like that…The AJ one is baffling.“
There’s no doubt that Joshua still has the name power to sell out a stadium. In Jones’ eyes, that is enough to put him much, much higher on the list. It’s clear that Joshua’s legacy in the eyes of many has been tainted a bit over the past half-decade. He simply isn’t considered the larger than life figure he once was.
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