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What a difference a single night at the office made for former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua on Saturday, who went from damaged goods in the eyes of his harshest critics to a rejuvenated threat to the undisputed title. 

Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs), who had lost three times in his previous seven bouts amid a flurry of head trainer switches, looked like the destructive AJ of old as he walked down and finished former title challenger Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) in the main event of a star-studded "Day of Reckoning" pay-per-view card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 

Even with Deontay Wilder's lifeless upset loss to former WBO titleholder Joseph Parker in the co-main event, which likely canceled a proposed two-fight deal for Joshua, the 34-year-old British superstar found his mojo again and suddenly has no shortage of huge options as he awaits the February meeting between champions Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury for the undisputed crown.  

For anyone who had watched Joshua's mannerisms and interviews closely in the build to his fifth-round TKO, which ended when Wallin's corner refused to let him come up off his stool with a busted nose between rounds, the result was a far cry from the expectation.

Joshua, who lost his titles in a pair of decision defeats to Usyk over the past two years, was everything from moody to defensive in each interview. He even paid to sit in isolated darkness for four days at a retreat, which was only hailed by critics as a red flag to the possible identity crisis Joshua had undergone publicly ever since his upset loss to late replacement Andy Ruiz in 2019. 

Even the pair of victories Joshua recorded after the Usyk defeats -- against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius -- were uninspired enough to produce more negative reviews than positive ones as Joshua acted gun shy and defensive, even up to the seconds before he brutally finished Helenius in Round 7.

The biggest disconnect appeared to be mental for Joshua, who still had the chiseled physique of an NFL linebacker at 6-foot-6 and an athletic combination of speed and power but was unable to find the confidence to let his hands go as willingly as he did throughout initial four-year title reign that led up to the Ruiz loss. 

It wasn't as if Joshua was ever a perfect heavyweight without any hiccups or technical flaws. He was always a bit too boxy with questionable stamina and a chin that was deemed vulnerable dating back to his dramatic 2015 knockout of amateur rival Dillian Whyte, in the penultimate fight before his first title victory. But the two main things the 2012 Olympic gold medalist did have were guts and fight-ending power, along with an ability to rise to the occasion in dramatic moments when the lights were the brightest -- like when he got off the canvas to finish former champion Wladimir Klitschko in their 2017 superfight in front of 90,000 people.

Joshua was skilled enough to outbox anyone in the division not named Fury or Usyk. He was also dangerous enough as a natural finisher and combination puncher with power in both hands to bail himself out when things became difficult. 

Whatever was lost, however, in the embarrassment of his implosion against Ruiz in 2019 took a few more years to fully catch up with Joshua, particularly mentally, as he appeared to come apart at the seems following the defeats to Usyk, including a bizarre post-fight meltdown in Saudi Arabia during an in-ring interview last October. 

Joshua, for the record, fought well in both Usyk fights and shouldn't have been so distraught in losing in such a manner to a future all-time great and first ballot Hall of Famer. But the problem was that he didn't fight like himself and stubbornly tried to outbox a technical master despite being the bigger and stronger man. 

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But that wasn't the Joshua who showed up this weekend, even if he still sounded like him in the immediate lead in to fight night. 

The Joshua who finished Wallin with intention after committing off the start of the opening round to establishing himself as the bigger puncher with a series of lead right hands against his southpaw foe, that was the AJ of old. The same guy who was absent at the wheel against Franklin and Helenius, even though he relied on his experience and muscle memory to get out of dodge without much excitement or trouble. 

The AJ of old might not be able to technically solve the winner of Usyk-Fury, but he is dangerous enough to win the fight, just the same. And his return matters to a division still undergoing a near decade-long renaissance even though all of the necessary matchups between top stars have yet to fully come to fruition.

Given his star power as the only single brand that is bigger on a global level than anyone not named Canelo Alvarez, heavyweight boxing needs AJ to be present, not just to make the biggest fights that matter -- including an inevitable clash with his fellow U.K. star in Fury -- but for them to matter just as much on a historical and commercial level. 

At his best, Joshua makes boxing more fun to watch. Whether it's filling soccer stadiums throughout the U.K. with his rock star following or becoming the first major boxer to accept life-changing money to headline in Saudi Arabia (where he outboxed an obese Ruiz in their immediate rematch) as part of that nation's attempt to disrupt the power structure of the sport, Joshua has the kind of presence and following that few have ever known in the modern era. He makes fun fights and isn't afraid to dramatically rally back in order to win them. 

Yet, it's not just the one-sided performance against Wallin that's enough to instill the kind of confidence that Joshua is healed. It was also the humility he showed after the fight, including his refusal to pile on comments Wilder made about him ahead of his own disastrous loss on Saturday, and the quiet confidence in his voice that suggests something revitalizing had taken place for AJ within the self-imposed darkness of his recent retreat, which likely mirrored the internal struggles that led to his multi-fight decline. 

At 34, Joshua is still considered young for a heavyweight and still has more than enough time to resurrect a career that still features arguably the best resume of all of his big-name contemporaries, including Fury, Usyk and Wilder. 

The part that always made Joshua's career so exciting to watch was that, because he won his first world title in just his third year as a pro, it was clear he was learning on the job how to be great, which makes it no surprise that he would suffer a few missteps along the way, especially in such an unforgiving division where a single punch can alter momentum so dramatically. 

But Joshua appears to have come through that extended fire both healed and evolved. He now has plenty of big options to stay busy as he awaits what's expected to be a two-fight series for Usyk and Fury, even with Wilder's profound setback one fight earlier. 

Not only could Joshua seek a big-money showdown with former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou, who nearly scored one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight history when he floored Fury in October, there are interesting secondary title bouts against China's Zhang Zhilei and Croatia's Filip Hrgovic. The latter of which could lead Joshua directly back to his goal of becoming a three-time heavyweight champion. 

Hrgovic is the mandatory for Usyk's IBF title and has stated publicly that he won't accept step-aside money to allow for an Usyk-Fury rematch. That could lead to Usyk being stripped, just in time for a spring showdown between Hrgovic and Joshua. 

Always a businessman, Joshua also refused to count out a fight with Wilder during the post-fight press conference. And he also enjoyed a cordial ringside moment with Ruiz, who undoubtedly was angling for a trilogy. 

Whether it was due to the influence of new co-trainer Ben Davison, who filled in for the absent Derrick James on Saturday, or the ongoing maturation of one of boxing's most polarizing and prominent figures, it was good to have AJ back.