Bob Arum Severely Criticizes Anthony Joshua: ‘I’m Not Convinced That Joshua Is an Elite Heavyweight’

Top Rank’s CEO Bob Arum has continued his rant towards WBO, WBA, IBF, IBO champion Anthony Joshua. In an interview with reporter Gareth Davies, he detailed the exact reasons for disliking Joshua.

“I’m not thrilled with Joshua,” he said. “I don’t think much of Joshua, because every time the name Joshua is mentioned, I see him laying on the canvas after getting hit by a non-puncher like Andy Ruiz. I’m telling you the truth. I may be underestimating Joshua, but I’m not convinced that Joshua is an elite heavyweight.”(via Boxingscene.com)

There is a reason why Arum downplays Joshua. Back in 2019, underdog Ruiz dropped Joshua four times en route to his 7th round win. Arum never considered Ruiz as a big puncher, even though his company promoted the fighter for several years.

Even though Joshua lost that fight, he made a strong comeback 6 months later and captured his titles back after outboxing Ruiz over twelve rounds.

He further added, “Anthony Joshua means next to nothing in the United States with the boxing community. All they remember of Anthony Joshua is his one fight in the United States where he got knocked out by a non-puncher like Andy Ruiz (and) that view of Anthony Joshua will not change easily.”

WATCH THIS STORY: 5 times Jon Jones broke rules inside UFC octagon,

It is important here to note that Arum co-promotes WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. He views Fury as a more solidified star compared to Joshua.

Bob Arum says Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury won’t be a big event

Joshua and Fury were close to signing an agreement to face each other in August in Saudi Arabia. But the deal fell off. Although this could be a dream match for many, Arum doesn’t think it’s likely to be one.

“If Anthony Joshua fought Tyson Fury in the United States, it wouldn’t do nearly as well as Tyson Fury’s upcoming fight with Deontay Wilder,” he said. “He’s not a personality, he doesn’t come through to the US public.”

“It may very well be different the way he connects with the UK public, but he doesn’t connect with the American public. They don’t know who he is or what he stands for – they nothing about him,” he concluded.

READ MORE: How Logan Paul Changed His Relationship With Dana White Forever

Those were some hard words from the Top Rank’s CEO. It will be interesting to see if Joshua or his team has something to say about this in near future.

What did you make of Arum’s comments on Joshua?