Joseph v Klitschko. We're inside the last couples of weeks now, here's hoping that the bout is better than the Gloves Off chat between the combatants. Over the last few days I've been looking at Vlad's form of late, and I don't like what I see. I'd forgotten what I'd seen in the past. Putting aside his miserable effort against Fury, the two fights before that were a bit of an eye opener. The amount of hugging he did against Jennings and Pulev bordered on an evening of sweaty romance. I was waiting for the heavy breathing to break out. Watching the way he stood off against Pulev before charging in behind a jab or right hand, then wrestling, filled me with the feeling that Vlad has serious concerns when it comes to being hit in the face. Of course we all do, but we're not world class fighters. Even after dumping Pulev a couple of times in the first, he didn't really press it. He eventually stopped an outclassed Pulev in five, but he wasn't about to expose his chin. Nothing wrong with that, Mayweather was a past master at it, but I can't help but feel Joseph will tag him. Of course as seen in this bout, Vlad can drop the hammer too. A knockout either way is a real possibility.
Have a look at the vid below, it's quite telling. I don't know how he's going to deal with Joseph, but I think he has a real problem on his hands. If he, as he's been doing of late, refuses to let his hands go, he gives A J a huge advantage. The young bloke is probably the biggest bomber in the business today. If A J doesn't have the suspected weak jaw that some believe, I think he should play this thing on the front foot. Hunt down the old bloke and hopefully smack him hard enough to make him think long and hard about whether he wants to get involved in the old Boston Two Step. Nothing better than two of the best big guys doing battle. We've already had some great fights this year, but none hold a candle to this bout. It might turn out to be a complete fizzer, but the expectation will be huge.
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