Ridiculous for me. Let him defend against Wlad and then have some mandatory defences! If these regulatory bodies didn't want him to be fighting for a belt (and thus winning one) why did they all have him ranked in they're top 5!
Disgusting decision this is. How many times did both klitschkos pick and choose their opponents. Unfortunately now we're going to have a run of any Tom dick and Harry being heavyweight champion to even further weaken the division
Just been watching the AJ knockouts on Sky. Looking for a chink in his armour, I would say that there were one or two fights where he was throwing lots of punches and, fortunately for him, the ones that came back missed. But the misses weren't due to him skilfully avoiding them. He has very fast hands but the fact that, in some fights, it took several punches to get the stoppage, with the opponent still standing, raises a question in my mind about the power of his punching. Maybe he isn't as powerful as he sometimes looks. Maybe some of them had glass chins. He is most vulnerable when he rushes in all guns blazing. Taking all this into account, I just wonder if, one day, a hard hitter with a good chin, who wants to mix it, might just get lucky; so far they haven't.
Never been into body building, so I don't know my arse from my elbow on the subject. But a lot of forums around the place are pointing an accusing finger at AJ,s physique. What do you guys think? please log in to view this image
Joshua is certainly pushing plenty weights as all heavyweights do a lot more than in the 70s,80s,90s guys. For me Joshua is decent but nothing special even for his age and time of career.
Joshua is still a completely raw talent. He will get caught by a couple of shots if he throws similar combinations against stronger opponents but I'm pretty confident he has the chin (and the legs) to stand up to it. I'd like to see him box behind his jab, especially in fights where he has a clear height and reach advantage. This will aid his one-punch power as the jab really is the set up for planting yourself and carrying the power through. With combos you aren't going for the one punch knockout. He will have the power don't worry. He does have plenty to learn, and he does have to prove stamina, but the kid has all the attributes. My only concern with AJ is how far his corner can take him- it might take another trainer to polish him into the machine he can be (think Lennox Lewis teaming up with Emmanuel Steward). As he steps up the levels now we should start to see him really take shape.
Joshua is very much all about potential. Everyone he has fought has either been a nobody or a somebody that once was but is well well past their prime. He's had no one even fight back really. What he needs is for someone to take chances against him come forward, put some pressure on and try and break up is rhythm. I don't think we'll learn anything much from Saturday's fight even though Whyte looks like his most dangerous opponent yet (on paper at least), I've not been too impressed with what I've seen from his fights (his opponents have been even worse than AJ's). The problem Joshua is going to have is because the heavyweight division is so poor, he probably won't get a proper test, or at least seen to have had a proper test until he's thrown in with a Klitschko or Wilder. It's easy to get carried away when someone is knocking out everyone he faces but we need to see him in a proper fight, have that chin tested and more importantly his heart.
Seems that I'm on my own here. I can't see Whyte being bombed out of there in the first round, I expect him to fully challenge Joshua. Whyte's last fight was a shocker, he want at it like a bull at a gate...he was right hand happy. I've seen other fights though where he was much more structured and effective. From what I've read and seen in clips, he's promised to be more patient this time out. I think his one real chance is to dump Joshua early on, if it goes past 4 or 5 rounds I think AJ should be too good. The one thing I'll be looking for, is the chin of both men. I think Whyte might have the edge there, but he might not be able to get to AJ's face often enough to get the ko. I can't find Dillian's reach stats anywhere, but I'd suggest that Anthony will out reach him by a fair bit, which will give him a huge advantage. Joshua to win, but I'd like to see these two get into a real scrap.
I'm not sure how you've come to the conclusion that Whyte might have the better chin. No one has laid a glove on Joshua yet. If your going by the amateur win then that was only Joshuas second fight and a long time ago now so really don't think that can be counted. I'm not saying Whyte won't be more competitive than the others but I just don't see him having the same potential or ability as Joshua. I've watched most of Whytes fights and don't see anything special but that also could be because of how poor the opponents are. If it hasn't been for that amateur win then this fight wouldn't even be happening
Or the only one with any sense mate. You could look like an insightful genius after Saturday while the rest of us sit here with egg on our face and yet another hype machine bites the dust. Eubank Jnr and Spike O'Sullivan should be the better grudge match, both fighters only defeats coming at the hands of the very talented Billy Joe Saunders. These two have been having a war of words pretty much since Eubank turned pro so could be a fiery clash on Saturday.
I think if Eubank does a good job on Saturday then he might start getting some recognition of his own away from the family name. I'm still on the fence with him at the moment but definitely looks full of potential. His fight with Saunders for me he was schooled by Billy Joe for six rounds, who then just eased off as he was so far ahead on the cards, letting Eubank back into it in the second half and giving a flattering and probably false view of Eubank. That it ended up a split decision, will probably have pissed Saunders off a bit the fact he let Eubank back in when he could have won every round. Eubank has, since then been saying he won and the result was controversial. So I'm looking for a good performance from Eubank on Saturday to show me he's also deserving of the hype
Nothing against AJ personally but kind of half hoping he gets sparked out purely as the Sky Sports ****fest of him is excruciating to be honest. Same thing happened with all the British glory boys after the Olympics, Harrison, Price etc, pure hype jobs. Let's see if he has the heart when someone hits him back. He's clearly all the potential then but has he the heart of a champion if engaged in a proper war? That's the big question over him for me. Until we know that, it's a case of people simply buying into the ridiculous hype fest that's been built up around him.
It's his visual performance and experts comments that make people take note and stand up. I bit like these Mullins horses or Coolmore horses we see every year that are hyped up. Some perform to expectations and some don't but I honestly believe AJ has the lot and will go on to become undisputed heavyweight champ
True Hully, I don't disagree with you. It's just the ridiculous platform he's been given, elevated over and above other very talented boxers out there because of Olympic success. Bit like the nonsense mass reporting of Victoria Pendleton, talk about getting a hand up because of your previous career. Absolute tripe, how about supporting those lads/lasses grafting in racing for years? The nobodies, no recognition for them but the Olympic cyclist, get her on the front pages... Big men like Audley Harrison looked devastating against cannon fodder too but found out against half decent lads. I watched his fight with Kingpin Johnston again there, if he was a horse he'd a been in front of the stewards for non trying. An absolutely pathetic effort from a has been clearly out for his last pay check. Really hope Whyte gets in close and let's fly, like their amateur fight, where the big lad was rocked and tumbled. No doubt the AJ now is different league to the amateur that lost that fight, but I'd dearly love Whyte to connect a few big shots with the jaw of AJ. Let's see if he's the heart, he has the raw minerals, I'll give him that.
Wouldn't it be interesting if punching power was scientifically measured and stated along with the other facts. Reach, height, weights (eg lowest, highest, latest), jab power, ko power (type) - and therest
Done me a little boxing acca for tomorrow night. looking through the card it 'should' be straight forward who the winners will be so i've had a go at method of victory: Anthony Joshua to win by ko/tko Chris Eubank Jnr to win on points/decision Kevin Mitchell to win by ko/tko Tony Bellew to win on points/decision Luke Campbell to win by ko/tko £3 pays £100 By no means are any of them what i'd consider bankers (if there is such a thing in boxing), including the top one, so they're just my (un)educated guesses and it gives me some interest in the card when the only fights i'm really looking forward to are Eubank/Sullivan and Mitchell/Barroso. The latter mainly because Mitchell is one of my favourite active boxers and the bloke he's fighting has 17 ko's from 18 wins and is undefeated. Mitchell poses a massive step up in class for him but still with a ko rate like that it could make for an interesting fight (while it lasts). With regards AJ i would like to see him put under pressure, chinned, even dropped, grit his teeth come back and stop Whyte. But i just don't think Whyte will cope with the speed. I am getting sick of all the publicity now though, anyone would think Sky are putting on Ali/Frazier 4 the way they've been marketing this!
