David Price fears for 'confused' Anthony Joshua and predicts 'even worse' display next time out
- Rob McCarthy
- 20 April 2023
David Price fears for Anthony Joshua's long-term career and believes his next outing could be an even worse performance than his comeback win over Jermaine Franklin.
Former British heavyweight champion David Price believes that Anthony Joshua's comeback fight will have done very little to improve his confidence and fears for the former heavyweight champion's career going forwards.
AJ was victorious against Jermaine Franklin at the O2 Arena but it was not a performance that excited, as Joshua failed to land a decisive knockout blow against the American.
And Price thinks the sluggish outing will have done Joshua's mental state more harm than good.
He told ID Boxing: "It looks like he's lost between two different [styles] - and it's frustrating to watch because I've been there myself on a lesser level.
"It's going to be even worse next time, because he didn't perform half as well [against Franklin] as he did against Usyk, so how's it going to be after this?
"He's like the fighter who every one once loved, but now everyone's questioning him. It must be difficult for him to stomach that.
"There's a lot going on for him, and I just hope he can come through it and find a bit of the form that he once had."
Joshua had been expected to
return to the ring again in July but then posted on social media that he will not be back until December.
Since then, promoter
Eddie Hearn has been commenting on a potential four-man heavyweight tournament in Saudi Arabia for the back end of the year.
The mega show would see Joshua take on Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury face Oleksandr Usyk, with the winners locking horns further down the line.
