Lennox Lewis explains why Anthony Joshua has "long road ahead" despite recent win
Lennox Lewis has weighed in on Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin.
'AJ' returned to the boxing ring earlier this month in Saudi Arabia. Back for the first time since a knockout win over short-notice replacement Robert Helenius, he faced the rising 'All In'. Wallin had been undefeated since a 2019 clash with Tyson Fury and hoped to upset Joshua.
Instead, it was one-way traffic in the main event of the 'Day of Reckoning' event. Joshua wound up scoring a fifth-round knockout win, causing Wallin to quit on the stool after several rounds of punishment. With the win, he was back on the right track and eyed a bout with either Deontay Wilder or Filip Hrgovic next.
However, Lewis isn't so sure that Joshua is entirely back. Speaking on the broadcast, the legendary boxer was asked about the bout. There, he stated that while it was a big win, he wasn't entirely sure what to take away from it.
Speaking on the TNT Sports broadcast on fight night, 'The Lion' stated (via Boxing Social)
“I couldn’t really judge from this fight if he is back or not. He definitely looked good, [but] he did what he was supposed to do, he took a guy out like he has taken out in fights before."
Check out Lewis' comments on Anthony Joshua:
Lennox Lewis believes Anthony Joshua has more work to do
While Anthony Joshua got a big win, Lennox Lewis still needs to see more out of him before he faces someone like Tyson Fury.
Following last weekend's event, 'AJ's future seems up in the air. While Joshua showed interest in facing Deontay Wilder, Eddie Hearn instead pitched an IBF title bout with Filip Hrgovic.
Furthermore, Joshua has already revealed plans to attend Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk. That historic title bout is slated for February and will go down in Saudi Arabia. The obvious implication of attending would be that he wants the winner.
However, Lewis believes his countryman still needs to show more before facing 'The Gypsy King'. He stated:
“But there is still a long road ahead [for Joshua] and he’s still got to go up against Fury if that fight is made, I think that will be a great fight for him. And Zhang from China will be a great fight as well so there is a couple of guys still wandering around but for this particular fight he did well.”