Everyone feels the undercurrents of the rivalry between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, despite them not clashing on the 23rd December, ‘Day of Reckoning card.’ However, now, it seems like ‘AJ’ has to defend his honor against another rival with whom he locked horns at the Riyadh hotel they’re camping in. Amidst these volatile verbal wars, famous boxing presenter, Gareth Davies saw another fight opportunity for AJ.
Over the weekend, AJ will enter the ring for the third time this year against Otto Wallin. On the same card, his long-standing nemesis, Jarrell Miller will face off against Daniel Dubois. While both the fighters remained occupied with their training for their respective clashes, they blew off some steam by blowing each other’s heads off on two occasions. Now, in these hostile waters, a hope for their clash emerges.
Davies sees a “physical beef” between AJ and Miller
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While expressing his excitement for a possible AJ vs. Miller fight, The Telegraph boxing correspondent outlined how the hostility between the two heavyweight giants seems beyond just verbal jabs. He envisions their rivalry to course in the ring at some point. He noted, “That was fascinating. It looks like they have got stupid beef with each other. It looks like they’ve got physical beef they’d like to settle. I think we all would like to see that fight.”
Miller was supposed to fight Anthony Joshua in 2019. However, after he tested positive for banned substances, the fight collapsed, pushing AJ to fight Andy Ruiz (who gave him his career’s first loss). Since then, Joshua has found it hard to shroud his contempt for ‘Big Baby.’
Such contempt found its way recently at the press conference held ahead of the Riyadh clash. “AJ don’t want no smoke with Deontay [Wilder],” Miller insulted Joshua. “…I know he would put that motherf***** in the grave,” he added. Joshua replied, “You know I’ll come over there and slap you.”
Their quarrel continued at the hotel lobby they were stationed in. However, amidst the heated exchange, Davies saw AJ’s side that one hardly sees.
Anthony Joshua is a respectful fighter, says Davies
In their first face-to-face exchange since 2019, Anthony Joshua and Miller gave a teaser of their beef. Calling AJ a “pu**y”, Miller clarified that he’d not hesitate to fight Wilder, a fight, per him, AJ has dodged multiple times. He further expressed his vehement desire to fight Anthony Joshua, to which the latter scorned, “I don’t want you.” “I’m on a different level,” he retorted.
Having analyzed this heated argument, Davies however saw Anthony Joshua as a respectful fighter. He noted, “What I liked about Anthony in that discussion was he bothered to engage with Jarrell Miller. And I found him so disarming in that chat and respectful to Jarrell Miller. He went right up there in my estimation in the way he did it.”
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For AJ, post 23rd December, the path is clear. March 9th, he will face off against Deontay Wilder, a fight that’s been in the making for 7 years. Miller, on the other hand, might hope for an AJ fight. Will Anthony Joshua give him the fight, so many years later?
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Who do you think would win between AJ and Miller? Take your pick in the comments section below.
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