According to Fabio Wardley, Anthony Joshua’s recent performance against Jermaine Franklin was not convincing enough, leading him to believe that he could even stop the Brit if given the opportunity.
In a fiercely contested match, Joshua won by a unanimous points decision. Despite his dominance over the determined American, the outcome was not as quick and conclusive as anticipated, leaving many of Joshua’s British supporters disappointed.
In contrast, Wardley managed to continue his winning streak by defeating Michael Polite Coffie in four rounds through a stoppage, making it a total of 15 consecutive KO victories.
"There's nothing to say I can't." 👀
British heavyweight insists he can KO Anthony Joshua after seeing Jermaine Franklin fight https://t.co/tbJmSOe4Gp
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) April 4, 2023
Wardley, upon winning, observed Joshua’s unanimous decision victory in the main event but wasn’t completely satisfied with the latter’s performance.
In his comments to talkSport, he said: “He’s just overly cautious in circumstances where he didn’t used to be, where he’d step on the front foot, he’d put it on his man, he’d let four, five, six strong combinations go, but now he doesn’t seem to do that. It’s just a jab, a right hand, step out, restart, same again, rinse repeat.
“We want to see him revert back to the old AJ who was just demolishing people, had no fear and was just sticking it on everyone.
“If I land one of those big right hands, I’ve stopped all of my opponents, so there’s nothing to say I couldn’t stop him as well.”
In reality, Wardley may still have some way to go before a bout with Joshua could materialize. Even with his victory over Coffie, the overwhelming consensus was that the stoppage might have come too soon from the referee.
Aside from that, his level of competition so far has not been anything to write home about, in comparison to Joshua, who is a former unified heavyweight champion which shouldn’t be downplayed.
But with Joshua not looking like his old self, there may not be a better time to target Joshua than now.