Tom Aspinall believes Anthony Joshua has got the 'fire' back after 'mega-impressive' Francis Ngannou win
17/09/2024 17:12
Tom Aspinall thinks Anthony Joshua will be at his best this weekend.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion is set to take on IBF titleholder Daniel Dubois in front of 96,000 people at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
Joshua has won four consecutive fights since suffering back-to-back defeats against Oleksandr Usyk, who has since beat Tyson Fury to become the first ever four-belt heavyweight champion.
An ex-boxer himself, Aspinall loves watching big-time squared circle bouts.
Naturally, the interim UFC heavyweight champion will be tuning to this one.
"I fancy that," Aspinall said when asked for his thoughts on Joshua vs Dubois during the latest episode of his ‘Fight Lab‘ show on TNT Sports
"I love watching the heavyweights. It's a very interesting fight I reckon. A good tear up between two massive guys. Where's Joshua at in this point in his career against a young guy, Daniel Dubois?
“I'm really looking forward to that one.”
Aspinall is liking everything he is seeing from Joshua recently. The 31-year-old suggested his new training team may have helped AJ get his groove back after some lacklustre performances.
He added: "I think with what Joshua has done recently, he really has [reignited interest]. He really has, and I think that his new training situation is obviously working for him with Ben Davison.
"Not only that, I think mentally something has switched in there. I don't know him personally, so I can't really say, but I think you can really see the fire in him now.
"Before, especially after his losses though Usyk, he was a bit gun-shy. And his loss with [Andy] Ruiz as well, he did look a little bit gun-shy."
Aspinall was particularly impressed with how Joshua dealt with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who gave Fury all kinds of trouble when they fought.
AJ treated Ngannou like the boxing novice he is and put him out cold in round two of their clash in March.
Aspinall concluded: "Now he's like, 'Right, here I am. We're having it and you're going to sleep.'
"I think his performance against Francis Ngannou, after what Ngannou did to Fury, it was mega-impressive."
Aspinall can enjoy being just a fight fan for the rest of 2024.
'The Honey Badger' has vowed to sit on the sidelines until he is given a crack at the proper UFC heavyweight belt, which will be on the line when Jon Jones fights Stipe Miocic at UFC 309 on November 16.
Aspinall will fly to New York to watch their clash from cageside and potentially step in on a moment's notice if either man withdraws from the bout.
Realistically, he'll have to watch Jones and Miocic finally fight before facing the winner in a unification match – unless they retire – at some point in 2025.
talkSPORT will bring you exclusive live commentary of the heavyweight clash at Wembley Stadium between Anthony Joshua and Daniel Dubois on Saturday, September 21. Download the talkSPORT app here.
