Anthony Joshua has been through a traumatic and life-changing incident – he should be allowed time to process his grief before blockbuster fight with Tyson Fury happens
Instead of celebrating a successful event in Miami, Anthony Joshua is processing the tragic loss of his closest friends in an accident that has utterly changed the course of his life.
The random nature of events make the whole thing almost impossible to deal with. Basically, a puncture forcing a collision with a lorry parked illegally ended the lives of two of the most important people in Joshua’s inner circle.
Had the puncture happened a second earlier, or later, outcomes could have been so different. As it is, that he and his driver ended up with only minor injuries is a miracle almost beyond comprehension.
In the days and weeks ahead Joshua will be haunted by a twist of fate that could so easily have taken him too. It must have been terrifying, traumatic as well as heartbreaking. The question now is how that impacts his life.
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When you lose people as close as that, it can have a profound effect and you are never quite the same again. Tragedy can turn you inside out, even destroy you. I’m sure there have been lots of tears already and there will be more.
He will need time to get over this, but as a professional athlete, time is the one commodity he does not have. There is huge demand for the Tyson Fury fight. However, he may not have the will for that anymore. That’s a question only he can answer.
The show goes on, of course, and January promises to get the New Year off to a terrific start.
Moses Itauma takes on Jermaine Franklin in Manchester aiming to become the youngest British World Champion since Naseem Hamed at just 21-years-old.
Franklin went the distance with Joshua and Dillian Whyte, but I’d be surprised were he still standing after five rounds against this guy. I want to see Itauma step up this year and show us that he can get through a crisis. It’s the only question he still has to answer.
A week later on the last day of the month Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson top an exceptional card in Madison Square Garden that also includes another elite super lightweight contest between Keyshawn Davis and Jermaine Ortiz.
Both bouts will be of huge interest to our own super lightweight star Adam Azim, who we believe will win a world title this year in a brutally competitive division.
Let me end by wishing you a Happy New Year and with a message to Joshua and the friends and family of those tragically departed. They have the love and support of all in boxing at this awful time. I hope they gain strength from that.
Follow Barry on X at @ClonesCyclone @mcguigan’s_Gym
