By Jacob Ajom

Former British and Commonwealth Lightweight champion Peter Oboh has advised former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua to call time from the sport that has brought him fame and money following his disastrous defeat by the IBF champion Daniel Dubois last weekend.

Analysing the fight in a chat with Sports Vanguard, Oboh said, “Joshua has become gun shy. Fear has taken over him. All he enjoys now is the show; the big arena, the glamour and the money

“He is no longer committed to the sport. Fear has taken over him as he is more concerned with the punches he receives than what he can deliver. Boxing has left him. Before now, Joshua was not interested in showmanship. His target was to go into the ring, fight and win. But now because of fear he has become afraid of getting hurt. As a boxer, when you see a punch coming and you close your eyes you get hurt.

On Joshua’s wish for a rematch with Daniel Dubois, Oboh said, “In boxing the punch you don’t see can hurt you more than the one you see. The punches that hurt you most are the ones that can damage you. But most people around Joshua will not tell him the truth because of the gains they stand to get from him fighting. That spirit of fighting has left him. When Lennox Lewis staged a comeback, it was because he lost to a lucky punch in the previous fight. But in Joshua’s case, he was beaten from the onset.

Continuing with his plea for AJ to retire, the former British and Commonwealth lightweight champion said, “In the early stage of my career, there were some fights that I lost but at a later stage, I left as the undefeated Commonwealth champion. I left when the ovation was loudest.”

He echoed the words of British legendary former champion Prince Naseem Hamed who said that it was time for Anthony Joshua to hang his boxing gloves. “He should do that before his gloves hang him. We don’t want to see that happen”