DEONTAY WILDER’s coach reckons Anthony Joshua will be destroyed in ‘THREE ROUNDS’ if the pair’s long-awaited grudge match comes to fruition this year.
A multi-million-pound dust-up between the pair is seemingly in the works for December – with the mega-rich Saudis interested in staging a mini heavyweight tournament including Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Boxing fans have long debated the outcome of a gunfight between the pair – who were once on course for a blockbuster undisputed title fight when they held all the heavyweight hardware.
That debate has raged even further following Joshua’s recent win over Jermaine Franklin, although Wilder’s head coach reckons it wouldn’t take long for the American to detonate his deadly right hand on AJ’s chin.
Malik Scott Franklin told iFL TV: “Anthony Joshua is not as defensive-minded as Oleksandr Usyk, he doesn’t have the same feet, nor the same reflexes.
“He’s not as tricky, or as small or light. Usyk can last longer, that’s why I gave him under six rounds.”
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“I just see three rounds with ‘AJ’ and Deontay.
“I don’t even see ‘AJ’ having good moments with Deontay, I see Usyk having good moments, because he’s tricky.”
Joshua, 33, returned to the win column earlier this month with a scrappy points victory over Franklin.
A second outing in July was touted for the former two-time unified heavyweight champion.
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But AJ stunned fans by recently revealing he won’t be back in action until December at the earliest.
He posted on Instagram: “My next fight is scheduled for December.
“Not ideal but everything is part of a bigger picture.”
Former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder hasn’t set foot inside the ring since his one-punch knockout of Robert Helenius last October.
His brutal knockout of the Nordic Nightmare saw him bounce back from consecutive knockout losses to Fury.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
