JEFF POWELL: Anthony Joshua will need further rehab before entertaining a fight with Tyson Fury

The talk was fast and furious. The reality is likely to be the pragmatic acceptance that AJ needs more rehab following his stunning world title loss before entertaining the Gypsy King.

Anthony Joshua’s initial gut reaction to Eddie’s consistent win over an absentee American at the business end of the alpha belt standings was to send out a defiant invite to Tyson Fury.

Such is the natural instinct of a fighter. By the time they settled in on the other side of midnight, promoter Hearn and new trainer Derrick James advised even more caution than his flagship heavyweight had displayed in the ring.

If left to Joshua’s professional pride, he would no doubt go to any lengths to persuade Fury to attend the Wembley Stadium summer festival, which the British boxing public began clamoring for years before Boris, Brexit arrived. , Corby, Covid, rampant crime with knives and impoverishing inflation. About us.

Even as the conversation turned from Fury first to Dillian Whyte next, oh don’t doubt it, Joshua was preparing for one final attack of Fury’s persona. That he is as gigantic as his height of 6 feet 9 inches.

“I’d have to turn a deaf ear,” AJ said as he held his phone up in selfie mode and posed as one of Fury’s video rants. “I couldn’t hope to compete with him talking trash.” I lived around the traveling community when I was young. That’s how they are. All you can do is try to turn off the noise.

‘Boxing needs him and me to move forward. It would be an honor for me to fight him for his WBC title. But I would have to save all my energy for the fight. When arrive.

There is the problem. Having watched Joshua’s cautious progress through 02, Hearn went from acknowledging that, business-wise, now is finally Fury’s time, to acknowledging that AJ needs to re-consolidate his confidence in the ring.

The underlying narrative is whether AJ can recapture the mojo that evaporated during Olexsandr Usyk’s two losses, which he admits had “taken” not only his cherished titles but “my sense of invincibility.”

Or how long that process might take.

It was funny sitting down with a 33-year-old two-time world heavyweight champion, his promoter and his trainer discussing the improvements he needs to make if he wants to get back to the top of the mountain.

Wasn’t he in his prime before the first of his three losses, that stunning KO of stocky Andy Ruiz Jr? Wasn’t it reckless that instead of remembering that one-punch accidents happen at heavyweight, he tried to take on the high-tech Olxsandr Usyk in pure boxing?

Those two Ukrainian masterclasses sent him into a mist from which he emerged on Saturday night. tentatively. Hearn billed this fight as The New Dawn. Joshua and Coach James called it Back To Basics. what he became. For the fundamental reason that Joshua couldn’t afford to lose.

He came out behind that drumstick left jab that led to his Olympic gold and world crown. And she stayed behind him for most of the night. When he unleashed the big right hand that had knocked out all his opponents before he started losing, he refused to risk going for the kill.

Should we blame him? Not precisely. Not when he won every round in my book. Not when the official judges had him losing just one or two and they seemed like consolation nods to a game underdog.

More importantly, not when Franklin pierced his over-the-top defenses with enough right hooks of his own to suggest he had better rediscover the balance of his style before taking on heavyweight big hitters.

Deontay Wilder, the most monstrous puncher since Mike Tyson, has been mentioned as another possible opponent. No, no, a thousand times no. That would almost certainly eliminate any prospect of the Fury fight. Just ask the Gypsy King himself, who somehow got off the mat three times after being semi-concussed by the Bronze Bomber.

Compared to Wilder, Ruiz is a pitter-patter puncher.

It’s not proving easy to recreate the AJ Aura. Tickets were slow to sell for his return to the arena he usually calls the Lion’s Den. The 02 ended up full enough. But while the crowd was excited when he got out, they quieted down as he went on. The most raucous roars came as he and Franklin kept punching after the final bell rang six seconds earlier and the fight spilled out at ringside, where now-TV analyst Tony Bellew attempted his own unlicensed comeback.

Now comes the even more difficult part. Cash in on the glory with a light brigade charge on Fury, who may well be tempted after seeing this. Or take advantage of the possibility of an ignominious end against Whyte.

Blame him for a boring night? No. He senses a fallen giant trying to find his feet again.