Given the trauma and tragedy Anthony Joshua experienced in December, it is no surprise that his career – the future of it – remains shrouded in uncertainty. That, in the grand scheme of things, is of little importance, he now knows, and any questions concerning it will forever be considered “too soon” by anybody with a shred of sensitivity.
That said, because Joshua is a former two-time world heavyweight champion still just about in his fighting prime, there is no escaping the fact there is a curiosity regarding his return to the ring. In fact, within just days of us all hearing about the car crash in Nigeria which killed two of his closest friends (Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele), we were reading reports and social media posts detailing how this incident – this tragedy, no less – might impact a proposed 2026 fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury, his British rival.
It was ghoulish stuff, in all honesty – only a notch above the crash footage posted on social media by rubberneckers in Nigeria on the day of the accident. It reminded us, again, how these fighters are for the most part relevant only in the context of them being professional boxers who fight for our entertainment. The idea of them also being human beings, who live like human beings, hurt like human beings, and grieve like human beings, was something lost on the majority who “covered” Joshua through December and January.
Now, as we move into February, the questions remain. We have now seen and heard from Joshua in recent weeks – a video statement, footage of him in the gym – and this has seemingly liberated others to speak on his behalf when questioned about him.
One of those people is of course Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter. He, too, would have been asked all manner of inappropriate questions in the past couple of months, just for a soundbite or clickbait headline, and only now, you sense, does he feel remotely comfortable discussing Joshua’s professional future. If the questions are tough, the answers are, for Hearn, no easier. After all, who can possibly say when Joshua will be mentally ready to return to the ring, if indeed he has any desire to return at all?
“I don’t think there are any guarantees he fights again, but at the same time I expect him to, because it is something that he loves,” Hearn said in an interview with First Round TV. “And it is something he can carry those guys with him through as well and it is something he wants to do.
“From a boxing sense, physically it wasn’t easy what he went through either. People probably don’t realise the extent of that.
“He has been training, but he is not ready yet – and won’t be for a while – to return to boxing training.”
Although Joshua, now 36, sustained only “minor” physical injuries in that crash on December 29, there can be no telling how these injuries, plus the more serious mental obstacles he must face, will change him – both as a human being and, to a lesser extent, a heavyweight boxer. The trauma alone will ensure that he is never the same, but whether such a change is deemed positive or detrimental only he will know with the passing of time. He may, for instance, now have a greater cause and reason to fight. He may have a newfound sense of perspective. He may realise now just how precious time is and how vulnerable each of us are.
If so, Joshua could, in the fighting arena, either grow from his experience or be damaged by it. It all depends really on whether the inevitable changes Joshua has gone through as a human being are conducive to him still fighting as he did before, back when an element of ignorance and coldness fuelled his exploits in the ring. For some, a knockout defeat is enough to remind them of their fragility and cause them to become gun-shy upon their return. But this, of course, is a whole different thing.
Sadly, what Joshua experienced in December will scar like nothing he has ever experienced in a boxing ring. It could also provide the kind of motivation, should he wish to continue, no belt, opponent or payday could ever possibly match.
In due course maybe we will find out the extent of that motivation. Then again, maybe we won’t. And that’s okay too.
