By: Sean Crose

Over 100 years ago there was a fight very similar to this one. Jack Dempsey the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world was facing the hard-hitting and colorful Angel Firpo. Their battle was so over the top that it is still spoken about, even today. No doubt the crowd who had gathered live – and it was said to be about 80,000 people – to see the fight no doubt remembered it for as long as they lived. Dempsey dropped Firpo seven times in the first round, only to be knocked out of the ring by Firpo  before the first 3 minutes of the fight had concluded.

Dempsey was able to beat the count and get back in the ring, though some believe he had help from people ringside. When he sat down on his stool in the corner however he reportedly asked his team what round he had been knocked out in. Firpo hit him so hard that Dempsey couldn’t even recall what happened. Then, somehow getting up at the bell to begin round 2, Dempsey asserted himself and ended up knocking the dangerous Firpo out. It was Dempsey’s last major victory. It took him around 3 years to ever get back in the ring, and when he did he was sounfly  defeated by the very skilled Gene Tunney.

In short a populator and highly decorated fighter was dropped hard and nearly defeated, only to come back the following round to win by devastating knockout. Anthony Joshua of course could relate to Dempsey tonight no doubt. For he was dropped twice Saturday in Saudi Arabia by the little known Kristian Prenga in what was largely seen as a tune-up fight. While it’s true Joshua, like Dempsey before him, got up and smashed his man, it was an unexpectedly tough night, a VERY unexpectedly tough night, for Joshua, the man who will likely soon find himself in a super fight with none other than Tyson Fury.

While it’s true fighters can look less than stellar one performance only to look amazing the next, there’s no doubt one has to wonder if Joshua is anywhere near his former self. Once one of the dominant forces in the heavyweight division, Joshua may -“may” being the operative word here – be seriously slipping. He’s had some tough battles in and out of the ring after all. He’s lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk in roughly the past 5 years. What’s more a horrible and deadly car crash took the lives of friends of Joshua last winter. Such things can change a man.

Then again such things can also lead to empowering a man, to making him believe in himself in order  to defy the odds, to force some light into a dark place. The point of course is that no one can tell at the moment whether or not Joshua simply had a bad night or if this was going to be the beginning of the end as far as  being a major player in the heavyweight division was concerned. There’s no doubt Joshua is a brave and gutsy warrior with a ton of heart but he’s also human just like the rest of us. And ability has sell-by dates.

If one thing is certain is that Tyson Fury himself is thrilled by what he undoubtedly saw this evening in Saudi Arabia. As the man who is likely to face Joshua in the near future, there’s little doubt he takes comfort in seeing a possible opponent knocked down twice in the first round. There’s more to boxing than a bad outing however, and this may have just been Joshua dusting off the rust. If if not, though, Joshua may have some serious things to consider.