In what some see as a sign that Anthony Joshua is trying to maintain his youth, AJ is undergoing heat cupping treatment ahead of his rumoured fight against young lion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium on September 21st.
Can cupping therapy help AJ regain his youthful looks?
With Joshua due to soon blow out the 35 candles on his birthday cake, the cupping treatment by the two-time former heavyweight champion could be seen as a desperate attempt to reverse his age.
It’s not uncommon for older fighters to use strange methods to stay young, but this is the worst. Joshua’s resort to hot cupping shows his concern for his upcoming bout with hard-hitting Dubois.
It would have been a dangerous fight for Joshua even in his mid-20s, but it could be a nightmare for him now. Dubois dominated 2016 Olympian Filip Hrgovic, wearing down the unbeaten boxer before knocking him out in eight rounds.
If Joshua (28-3, 25 KOs) is to face Dubois (21-2, 20 KOs) on Sept. 21, he will need to do everything in his power to stave off the aging process and recapture the youthfulness that launched his career 11 years ago in 2013.
It will be interesting to see if Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, worries about his golden egg and encourages AJ to do some hot cupping ahead of their September bout, which could see a lot of money disappear if Joshua is soundly defeated by the young phenom Dubois.
Whether Joshua faces Dubois or the fearsome puncher Zhang Zilei, Hearn could see his number one money fighter forced into retirement by knockout.
Is it time to retire?
The ageing former champion’s strange cupping regimen may not be effective against the young star Dubois, and he will have to face reality: it’s time to hang up the gloves.
If Joshua chooses to stay, he could still make money from a fight with Tyson Fury in what is considered a good domestic fight, and even if Usyk beats Fury in the rematch (which he probably will), there would still be a ton of money to be made from an Usyk-Joshua bout in early 2025.
Hearn has tried to rebuild Joshua since his back-to-back losses to Oleksandr Usyk by putting him against weaker opponents in four straight fights, but that wasn’t the solution — it was just a cover-up to hide his age.
Anthony Joshua underwent cupping therapy today to help his boxing career. pic.twitter.com/4kUHY2dpFs
— Boxing Kingdom (@BoxingKingdom14) June 24, 2024
