MIKE TYSON’s former coach has given his prediction for Anthony Joshua’s imminent heavyweight showdown with Deontay Wilder.
A long-awaited grudge match between the two former champions is in the works for December, with the blockbuster showdown set to take place in Saudi Arabia.
Both men are shells of the fighters they were five years ago when they held all the heavyweight hardware, but Joshua more so.
And Teddy Atlas believes AJ’s proneness to being caught with right hands will result in him suffering a brutal knockout loss.
The International Boxing Hall of Famer said on his ‘The Fight’ podcast: “If I was backing him [Joshua], I don’t know if I’d want to put him in with Wilder, to be quite frank.
“With the kind of right hand Wilder chucks and the susceptibility he has to getting hit with the right hand.
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“It’s not a knock on him, but I think Wilder would knock him out.”
Joshua returned to the win column in April with a scrappy points victory over Jermaine Franklin, who had success with his counter-overhand right on several occasions.
When pressed further on a fight between AJ and Wilder, Atlas said: “Joshua’s vulnerability for the right hand is one of the reasons [I think he loses].
“Besides, the fact [is[ he’s made so much money.
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“He doesn’t need to do this, that you never see him with Wilder ever.”
Before Joshua can think about a long-overdue clash with Wilder, he must first get through fellow Brit Dillian Whyte.
A rematch with the Brixton Body Snatcher is in the works for August 12, although the fight has not yet been made official.
And Wilder admits he’ll be “nervous” watching Joshua put their multi-million-pound Saudi showdown on the line against Whyte.
The Bronze Bomber told SunSport this week: “Are you nervous?
“Everybody’s nervous, we all are.
“I will be, I’ve said before I’m a straightforward, honest guy anyone that knows me knows that.
“But I am nervous, if he takes a fight. We’ll keep it like that.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
