Heavyweight Boxing: Arum Taunts Joshua Over Suspect Chin
Joshua vs Wilder
Legendary boxing promoter and American business tycoon, Bob Arum has teased World Boxing Association (WBA) Champion, Anthony Joshua over his suspect chin as an accomplished heavyweight boxer.
He says it will be goodbye on the night for Joshua, if his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight counterpart, Deontay Wilder hits him on the chin when they meet in the much-touted unification battle.
Joshua currently holds three of the four major world championships in boxing: the International Boxing Federation (IBF) title since 2016, the WBA (Super) title since 2017, and the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) title since 2018.
He also has the International Boxing Organisation (IBO) title since 2017, and at regional level, held the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles from 2014 to 2016.
However, Arum hopes that Tyson Fury will eventually get the opportunity to beat both Wilder and Joshua in a title fight. A lawyer cum businessman, Arum is the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Top Rank, a professional boxing promotion company based in Las Vegas, United States.
Arum, who is Fury’s co-promoter, predicted that Wilder would knock out Joshua if both fighters end up fighting each other before Fury faces Wilder in a re-match or Joshua in a much-expected all-United Kingdom (UK) showdown.
According to Arum, The 6-feet, 7-inches Wilder (40-0-1, 39 KOs) arguably is the most devastating puncher in boxing history, but the 6-feet-6, 245-pound Joshua has knocked out 21 of his 22 professional opponents so far.
Joshua’s power aside, Arum isn’t confident that WBA Champion’s chin could withstand Wilder’s exceptional power.
“Joshua, you know, it remains to be seen. His (Joshua) chin isn’t the greatest. If Wilder hit him on the chin, then, it is goodbye Joshua, I think. It remains to be seen”, Arum told World Boxing News in a story posted on its website.
But it remains to be seen because Wilder and Joshua do not seem any closer to their much-discussed heavyweight title unification fight than they were this time last year.
Born to a Nigerian father on October 15, 1989, Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua, is a British professional boxer honoured by the Queen of England as an Officer of the British Empire (OBE) – With agency reports
