Anthony Joshua might hang up his gloves, and Teddy Atlas has some thoughts on it. The legendary trainer shared his take on Joshua's future in boxing after his recent loss to Daniel Dubois.
Joshua's had a great run in the sport. He's been a two-time world champion and once held three of the four major world titles. He's beaten some big names like Dillian Whyte, Alexander Povetkin, Wladimir Klitschko, Joseph Parker, and Kubrat Pulev.
But lately, things haven't been going his way. He lost his belts to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and couldn't win them back in the rematch a year later. Then, in September 2023, Dubois stopped him in five rounds when he tried to become a three-time champ.
After that loss, some folks in the boxing world started saying maybe it's time for Joshua to call it quits. But Joshua's not ready to throw in the towel just yet. He's said he'll keep fighting, and there's talk of matches with Martin Bakole, a rematch with Dubois, or another go with Zhilei Zhang.
Teddy Atlas, speaking on his podcast "The Fight", gave his take on Joshua's situation. He says Joshua's got two options.
Option one: Joshua can retire. Atlas explains:
"He doesn't have to fight again, he's done a lot of great things. Ricky Hatton said he should retire. I agree with Ricky if it's just about getting another £150 million. If it is, God bless you, go off into the sunset, people love you, you've accomplished a lot of things people won't accomplish in a lifetime."
But there's also option two: Joshua can keep fighting. Atlas adds:
"But if you, like Dubois, like Fury, there is still something you need to feel complete, to walk down that street and feel right, to look in that mirror and like what you're seeing, if that is gnawing at you, if that is something that keeps you up at night that has to be quelled, that has to be satisfied, that has to be put to rest, if that's the case, then you have to fight again, for you."
So, according to Atlas, it all comes down to what Joshua wants. Does he feel he's done enough? Or is there still something he needs to prove to himself? That's the big question Joshua will have to answer as he decides his next move in the boxing world.
