BOXING legend Prince Naseem Hamed has cast doubt over Anthony Joshua’s future after saying “we all have a sell-by date”.
Joshua will fight Dillian Whyte on August 12 ahead of a heavily-rumoured showdown with Deontay Wilder in December.
But Hamed poured cold water on the idea of AJ reviving his career and returning to the top level of boxing.
Joshua began his attempts to come back from back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk when he fought Jermaine Franklin in April this year.
He entered the bout as heavy favourite but was forced to go 12 rounds with the American, in what many saw as an underwhelming performance.
Speaking to talkSPORT boxing about whether AJ can get back to the top, Hamed said: “That’s a question AJ can only answer.
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“For me personally, it’s gonna be hard, very, very hard for AJ.
“I remember seeing him before his last fight [against Jermaine Franklin], I looked him in his eyes and I said, ‘This is the time where you’re gonna have to prove your heart, you’re gonna need to smash this guy around, show that you’re in charge.’
“That didn’t happen.
“What kind of level are we talking about [returning to]? Right at the very top? He had his time, we’ve all got sell-by dates.”
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Prince Naseem also gave his views on the heavyweight boxing scene more generally, and criticised Tyson Fury’s decision to fight former UFC star Francis Ngannou.
The two will face-off in a boxing match in Saudi Arabia in October.
Reacting to the fight, Hamed said: “I think it’s a great business move,
“Tyson’s proven that he’s an amazing champion.
“But what can I say? For me personally, I really wanted to see him fight Oleksandr Usyk after what he did to Anthony Joshua.
“His next fight, what does it really mean to us? He’s not even fighting a boxer.
“It’s gonna probably be a big fight in Saudi Arabia, but does it really mean anything in the sport of boxing?
“It is a money fight, it may be a good business decision from Tyson Fury.
“But listen, Tyson Fury – people have not seen him get beat. He’s still number one, he’s still the man.
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“So credit goes out to Fury, we like him.”
The finer details of the fight purse between Ngannou and Fury have not been revealed but Ngannou’s manager Marquel Martin described the amount of money on offer as “life changing”.
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
