One of the reasons that Anthony Joshua has been one of the most popular boxers of the last decade or so is his personality. He's not only a quality boxer with knockout power in both hands, but he's a wise, erudite man who is always interesting to listen to.
Except, that is, for Tuesday when he made his official arrival in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to help promote his bout on Saturday against Otto Wallin on the huge Day of Reckoning card. That card will feature most of the best heavyweights in the world other than the two reigning champions, WBC/lineal champion Tyson Fury and IBF-WBA-WBO unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk will fight on Feb. 17 for the undisputed title in Saudi Arabia. The heavyweights on Saturday's card -- Joshua, Wallin, former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, former WBO champion Joseph Parker, Daniel Dubois, Jarrell Miller, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Agit Kabayel, Junior Fa, Frank Sanchez, Filip Hrgovic and Mark De Mori -- are all hoping for a crack at the title in 2024.
Joshua will fight Wilder in March if both win on Saturday, so there is a lot riding on the bout.
Joshua's a fascinating guy, but he was a vastly different person on Tuesday. He made Marshawn Lynch look like cuddly and loquacious with his curt answers and scowl across his face.
He spoke to Matchroom's YouTube crew upon arriving, but they didn't get much out of him. Generally a nice, genial man, he gave off an odd vibe like he was unhappy being there and had little to say.
As an example, this is how it started:
Q. This is your third fight in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Is this place becoming the home of boxing?
AJ: You tell me.
Q. It seems like a great place to be. How are you enjoying Riyadh?
AJ: Just focused, really. I really haven't seen much of it. I'm just in the gym and back at my hotel.
Q. You're quite different than how you were yesterday. You were nice and relaxed. Today, you seem to have retreated a little bit further into fight mode.
AJ: Correct.
Q: What do you make of Wallin as an opponent? He's a tough opponent, we've seen that against Fury. The shot I'm expecting to see from you is a shot that you've thrown and is better against a southpaw, the right hand straight down the middle. Is that something you're going to be looking for?
AJ: 100 percent. Definitely.
It went on from there. The questions were awful, and Joshua replied in kind, but his brusque manner even walking over to the set was off-putting. It was obvious watching him he wasn't in a gregarious mood.
This is a huge fight for Joshua. Wallin is a solid fighter, but he's not in Joshua's league. Joshua needs to perform because not only the Wilder fight is on the line, but so, too, is his career. What's the point of continuing to fight if you can't get a title shot when you're a rich and accomplished boxer like Joshua?
Think through this for a moment. If Joshua loses, he might not be able to get a big fight until late 2024 or early 2025. We know Fury and Usyk are likely going to fight twice, and that may be it for both of them in 2024. If Joshua defeats Wallin, at least he'll get a massive fight against Wilder in a bout that should have happened years ago but will still be interesting.
But if Joshua loses, is there much incentive for Wilder to face him? And will Joshua command the kind of high-salary at that point that he does now? The answer to both of those questions seems to be no.
Another factor that must be considered is Joshua's trainer, and his recent propensity for changing them out like underwear. Joshua was trained by Rob McCracken in the amateurs and from his pro debut through his first bout against Usyk, a decision loss on Sept. 25, 2021. Robert Garcia trained Joshua for the Usyk rematch on Aug. 20, 2022, another Usyk win by decision.
Derrick James trained Joshua for his wins over Jermaine Franklin Jr. and Robert Helenius. And now, he's working with Ben Davison, Fury's former trainer.
They're all quality trainers, Garcia, James and Davison, in particular.
But it makes one wonder what is going on with Joshua that in a span of five fights, he'll have used four different trainers and hasn't looked notably better. We know that the trainers are elite, so can his less-than-inspiring recent performances all be placed at their feet? I think not.
Garcia said his experience with Joshua was positive.
"A.J.'s at a stage in his career where he's the boss, he calls the shots and he decides what he wants to do," Garcia told keviniole.com. "Everyone around him is OK with everything. He already has the talent. He already has the power. He's got great power, and that's going to continue to give him wins."
So maybe Joshua's gruff manner on Tuesday wasn't only because of the awful questions directed his way. He might know something we don't know. Garcia said he thinks Joshua will win on Saturday and said that because the current crop of heavyweights isn't great, Joshua is good enough to win and stay at or near the top.
It will be good for the sport if Joshua not only wins, but looks good in the process. Wallin lost to Fury on Sept. 14, 2019, but badly cut Fury and made it a difficult bout for him. If Joshua can starch him, that would make a statement heading into a fight with Wilder.
When, though, was the last time Joshua looked really good? Maybe you could say the Kubrat Pulev fight on Dec. 12, 2020, when Joshua scored a ninth-round KO, but I'd suggest it would be his win over Alexander Povetkin on Sept. 22, 2018. He stopped Povetkin in the eighth.
Either way, it's a long time.
And maybe, just maybe, that explain's Joshua's demeanor upon his arrival.