Hearn says Joshua is looking lighter and faster

Boxingnews24.com

By Tim Royner

Promoter Eddie Hearn says IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua could be as low as 248 pounds or lighter for his unification fight with WBO champion Joseph Parker (24-0, 18 KOs) on March 31. Hearn says Joshua is looking faster than he was before in his last fight against Carlos Takam.

Joshua weighed career high 254 lbs. for his last fight against Carlos Takam on October 28th last year. The weight didn’t prevent Joshua from scoring his 20th consecutive knockout, but he looked tired at times during the course of the bout. Hearn said Joshua would come in lighter for that fight than the 250 lbs. he weighed in his previous bout against Wladimir Klitschko, but it turns out he was wrong.

Hearn is now making another prediction and it’s unclear whether he’ll be right or if he’s guessing again. If the idea is to confuse Parker, it’s probably a waste of time. Parker isn’t going to be making a big deal about Joshua being 7 to 10 lbs. lighter for the fight, as he’s been having stamina problems since he’s been in the 240s. For Joshua not to have an issue with his conditioning, he may need to do something dramatic like dropping down to 225.

“I can’t see him coming in more than 17st 8lbs or 17st 9lbs, which would be half-a-stone lighter than the last fight. Maybe he will be even lighter,” Hearn said to skysports.com. ”I watched him spar 12 rounds last week. His footwork is so much better – he is gliding on his feet, he has got faster hands.”

Just because Joshua is able to move around well in the ring while showing off his footwork doesn’t mean he’s going to be able to fight like that for 6 to 12 rounds against Parker. Joshua might get tired and find himself in the same situation he was in the 6th round against Klitschko in their fight in 2017. Joshua gassed in that fight and was dropped by Wladimir.

Joshua was 250 for the Klitschko fight, but I don’t think it makes a whole lot of difference that weight and 254. Both of those weights are too much for Joshua to be carrying around in a boxing match. If this was a bodybuilding competition, then Joshua would be perfect weighing in the 250s, but not for a fight against an athletic heavyweight like the 26-year-old Parker.

Joshua’s performances have been slipping since his fight with Wladimir. Joshua was at his best against Eric Molina in December 2016. But that was a fight in which Molina never even tried to fight. He was content to play it safe, and Joshua quickly stopped him in the 3rd round.

At least Joshua realizes that he has flaws that he needs to improve. Some heavyweights never bother to lose weight. Joshua is ahead of the curve by him understanding that he needs to drop weight. Whether being lighter will help him against Parker and his future fights are unknown. Joshua might find out that his conditioning doesn’t improve no matter how light he gets.

“From the day after his Takam fight, all he has been thinking about is how he can improve, get a bit leaner, improve the jab, and improve the footwork. He is obsessed with improvement,” Hearn said.

Joshua vs. Parker will be taking place on March 31 on Sky Box Office at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

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