The Killers’ TOP singer, Brandon Flowers, stepped onto the John Peel stage at Glastonbury Festival 2017, looking around at thousands of attendees and delivering a poignant message. “They say you played the John Peel stage twice in your career; once on the way up and once on the way down,” he said. “It’s great to be back.”
It has been suggested that by crossing the old land before Dillian Whyte, Anthony Joshua’s career follows a similar trajectory. “He came at the right time,” Joshua countered on Monday. “He’s been a relevant opponent throughout my career.”
Life took off for Joshua after he stopped Whyte for seven rounds in December 2015. He won the world title in his next bout, became a superstar, and within 16 months he had ended his career. Wladimir Klitschko at one of the biggest competitions in history. But that all changed for Joshua in June 2019 when he lost to Andy Ruiz Jnr. Since the shocking encounter in Madison Square Garden, though he’s won more games than he’s lost since then, he’s struggled to regain his old momentum.
Going back to Whyte seems like the perfect way to move forward again. In the opening Whyte, Joshua overcame the first real crisis of his professional career in the second half to score what remained one of his most impressive finishes of the half. Saturday. It taught him a lot and it was a contest held at a different time, when things were less complicated, that he still remembers with clear affection.
“It was a tough second half,” recalls Joshua. “I threw a lot of punches, but that little break, that second wind sometimes you need, that’s good. The last [fight with Whyte] take us into the stratosphere. Hopefully the same can happen with this fight and give boxing the fight it needs.”
Some fans – though not all – have criticized this rematch, but speaking with Joshua, it’s easy to see why this is the right match for him, win or lose. Score another spectacular KO and that momentum returns. If he loses, an outcome he insists won’t bother him, then Joshua’s journey, at least the one we’ve all invested in for over a decade, counts as a win. end. He will know that. We will all know that. There may even be a sense of relief for Joshua, who has been under incredible pressure since winning Olympic gold in 2012.
With a fight against Deontay Wilder set to take place in December in Saudi Arabia, Joshua – always wanting to try his hand at it – can certainly choose a less troublesome opponent. Joshua, soon 34, is acutely aware that he is no longer the brave fighter he used to be, he is just trying to bring out the best of the boxer he has become. And money, while clearly important, is no longer his motivator. If that’s the case, he’s taken a different route to the riches that the war with Wilder will bring. He would easily do it, whether in the form of a weaker opponent or not fighting at all.
That is why at this point, it is wrong to assume that Joshua no longer wants to fight. There was a clear desire in him to move on, if only because he did not know any other way of life. Still, he’s no doubt looking for clues as to where he’s going, if ever, after this. Deep inside, he understands that he may be just one punch away from the finish line. He accepts that, while still hoping that he can still rekindle the fire that once burned inside.
Unlike Jermaine Franklin, a sideline contender who he admitted he looked “terrible” to face when knocked out in April, Whyte immediately sparked excitement in his stomach. And if Wilder follows suit, Joshua will enter that dangerous encounter with fully restored confidence. There are mountains left to climb.
“I can keep going [boxing] for a long time, and I really want to,” he said. “I want to win [again] But this time I have to do it for myself. That’s the difference. It’s all for myself.”
Incidentally, a year after Flowers and The Killers made a great comeback on the John Peel stage, they were invited back – right at the next festival – as the lead for the whole week. If Joshua defeats Whyte with similar fanfare, both he and the fans will also call for a return to the top stage.
