By: Sean Crose

Boxing is a brutal sport – a brutal, sometimes deadly sport. All fighters know that, but there are those who struggle to call it a career, regardless. The desire to stay in the ring can be especially forceful when the fighter in question has had a very successful career. The list of fighters who have lasted too long is long. No one wants another fighter to stay longer than they should have. That’s why former heavyweight champion and world star Anthony Joshua should seriously consider retirement after suffering a devastating defeat at the hands of Daniel Dubois with gloves in his hometown of London last weekend.

Look, boxers get beat up — sometimes demanding. It’s not just part of the sport, but it doesn’t guarantee a life of misery for the fighters who take the beating. But Joshua has been beaten up many times — and by world-class fighters. While no one is saying that Dubois and Andy Ruiz (who also scored a brutal win over Joshua in 2019) are this generation’s Ali and Frazier, they are both world-class professional fighters who faced and beat Joshua while in their prime. Dubois and Ruiz are not tomato cans. Their punches hurt. And both men have done Joshua significant damage.

Then there’s Joshua’s incredible fight with former champion Wladimir Klitschko. Although he won the fight in great style, Joshua was crushed so badly by former champion Klitschko that he collapsed and was nearly finished off. Again, the guy got hurt in what turned out to be a classic slugfest. All of this is to say that Joshua didn’t just take a lot of punches, he took a lot of punches from the best in the business. I’ve long maintained that boxing is not an immoral endeavor as long as the long-term safety of the fighters is the highest priority. Joshua may have another fight or two, but now his long-term safety is at risk. The guy has simply taken too much damage to ignore reality.

Does this mean Joshua will retire? Maybe not. Maybe he’ll stay and prove to the world that he DID NOT HAVE to retire. But finding out is a risky investment for Joshua at this point. Here’s a prayer the guy makes the right choice.

On Saturday night, November 2nd, Teflon Promotions will be hosting a huge night of boxing at The Scottish Rite Auditorium in Collingswood, Recent Jersey.

In the evening’s six-round main event, undefeated cruiserweight Muhsin Cason will face Alvin Varmall Jr.

Cason, from Philadelphia by way of Las Vegas, has a record of 12-0 with nine knockouts. The 30-year-old Cason is a six-year veteran and has wins over Nathaniel Copeland (1-0), Montez Brown (8-1) and his most recent fight, when he stopped Lamont Capers in two rounds on April 27 in Philadelphia.

Varmall, from Catskill, Recent York, is 17-1 with 14 knockouts. The 32-year-old has been a professional for 11 years and has wins over Antonio Mignella (3-0) and Jesse Vice (1-0). In his last appearance, Varmall stopped Billy Cunningham in four rounds on Aug. 19, 2023, in Biloxi, Mississippi.

The event will be a six-round super welterweight fight between James Martin (10-4) of Philadelphia and Delen Parsley (13-2, 4 KOs) of Brooklyn, Recent York.

In four-round fights:

Tariq Green (5-2-2, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia will face Keithland King (5-2, 5 KOs) of Washington, Recent Jersey in a middleweight fight.

In a clash of undefeated super welterweights, Aaron Anderson (6-0, 4 KOs) of Dundalk, Maryland, will face Martin Sollano (5-0, 2 KOs) of Amarillo, Texas.

Ashwin Trail (0-1) of Pennsylvania will face the debuting Julio Dos Santos of AMarillo, Texas in a heavyweight fight.

Undefeated featherweight contenders Jaclyne McTamney (2-0, 1 KO) of Southampton, Pennsylvania, and heavyweight Paul Koon (4-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, will face opponents whose names have not yet been revealed.

Dmitry Bivol will face the greatest boxer of his career in the delicate heavyweight division[ited championship fight against unified champ Artur Beterbiev in 19 days on October 12th in Riyadh. Beterbiev might have too much power for Bivol, who likes to throw combinations and leaves himself open. Getting countered by Beterbiev will be bad for Bivol.

WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is known for his movement and boxing skills, which he’s used to defeat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez. He’s not faced anyone like IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), though.

Bivol hasn’t fought anyone like Beterbiev, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to use his in-and-out attacking style effectively against this kind of puncher.

Canelo, a natural middleweight in size, was too small to fight at light heavyweight against Bivol in 2022. Zurdo Ramirez was slow and limited in his fight against Bivol in November 2022. Bivol might not be as good as some fans had thought, and Beterbiev may expose that.

“When I think of what is a machine? It’s Beterbiev more than any other boxer in recent years,” said Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channel, talking about unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev ahead of his fight against Dmitry Bivol on October 12th.

“Some thought Callum Smith was going to go to Canada and take the titles from him. Beterbiev destroyed him. That’s when I thought this guy is the real deal. Then there’s Dmitry Bivol. I think he’s poetry in motion.

“You have someone [Beterbiev] it will break you, and you have someone who is poetry in motion. Bivol does not have such a distinguished CV as Beterbiev,” Ade said.

Beterbiev’s greatest victories:

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
-Callum Smith
-Callum Johnson
-Marcus Browne
-Anthony Yarde
–Joe Smith Jr.

Bivol’s best wins include defeats over Joe Smith Jr., Canelo, and Gilberto Ramirez. His resume is similar to Beterbiev’s, but not quite as good.

“Bivol shut Canelo down. You can’t sleep after a performance like that. That was Canelo in the run-up to the fight, on the run.”

“I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary at the time, but of course it was. In retrospect, it was like he hit me in the arms and knocked me down,” Callum Johnson told Secondsout of his 2018 fight with Artur Beterbiev.

“Will his age affect him? At some point, yes. Will knee surgery affect him?” Johnson asked of Beterbiev.

Beterbiev’s recent knee surgery raises questions about whether he’ll be able to handle the stress of facing a fighter like Bivol. Not just the movement. Bivol could decide to lean on Beterbiev in the clinches to wear down the knee and weaken it.

Will Bivol reign supreme on October 12? 👑#BetterBivol | #RiyadhSeason | October 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh photo: twitter.com/Q7tQgrDX4o

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 23, 2024