Anthony Joshua’s original amateur coach is pushing back on the growing chorus calling for the former unified heavyweight champion to hang up his gloves.
Joshua’s mentality has been under scrutiny since his fifth-round stoppage loss to Daniel Dubois in September 2024, and concerns resurfaced after a car crash that killed two of his close friends, followed by a rough July outing against Kristian Prenga, who knocked Joshua down twice before Joshua turned the fight around and stopped him in the second round.
Despite the doubts, coach Sean Murphy told The Stomping Ground that he still sees Joshua as a legitimate top-level heavyweight, saying Joshua will know when it’s time to step away and still carries the mindset that he can win every fight he enters.
Murphy argued that Joshua’s few losses were closer than they looked and pointed to his comeback after the Andy Ruiz Jr. defeat as proof he can bounce back stronger. Murphy even suggested Joshua’s power alone could change the outcome of a fight against someone like Moses Itauma.
He’s going to know when his time is up. He’s got to have that mentality of: I’m going into every fight and I’m going to win every fight. And he still thinks that – I know he does.
“I think he’s got a lot more left to offer. He ain’t been in hundreds [of fights and] he don’t get bashed up. The couple of ones he’s lost, I feel he could’ve won those fights.
“For one reason or another, things didn’t work out, but, after the [Andy] Ruiz one, look how he came back stronger than ever. If he puts his mind to it … he can beat any of the top heavyweights.
With Joshua’s future still a hot topic in heavyweight boxing, his longtime coach is making clear he isn’t ready to write him off yet.
