Tony Bellew has given his view about the relative strengths of Anthony Joshua’s punch resistance.
Joshua has lost four fights in his career. Two of those came on points to Oleksandr Usyk when he was relieved of his world titles in 2021 and 2022, and two came by knockout against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, then Daniel Dubois in 2024. However, in both cases he got up multiple times and was stopped on his feet by the referee, who deemed him unable to continue.
This last weekend he returned to the ring for the first time since knocking out Jake Paul last November and disaster struck immediately when he was put down twice in the opening round by underdog Kristian Prenga.
‘AJ’ rose both times and before the end of the second had landed a brutal combination on Prenga that left him unable to beat the count.
Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Bellew was asked if he has the same concerns about Joshua’s chin as many have in the aftermath.
“No, do you understand that he’s got a rock solid [chin]. It’s not that. How can you question someone’s chin when he’s never been starched, and he’s never been flatlined. He always gets up. Even against Daniel Dubois, he always gets up. The fact that he gets up shows there is nothing wrong with his chin. Fitness is what gets you up off the floor. Anybody can go down.”
Fury has been down on the canvas a number of times himself over the years, most famously against Deontay Wilder when he showed great heart to get back up, but also against considerably less established boxers including Francis Ngannou.
However, like Joshua, Fury has always got up, which could make for a thrilling fight between the two long-time rivals.
