Do you think the Roy Jones from 2003 who went up to heavyweight and fought John Ruiz could beat Anthony Joshua?
I still have to wonder how much people expect from Joshua. I realize Povetkin is not a heavyweight legend, but he has been known to be a sharp combination puncher with good attacking technique. Is it really that big of a shame to go three rounds with him, before gaining the control?
Lennox wouldn't have allowed Joshua to live. It would've been destruction. Joshua is a big pile of steroids. No finesse, no real talent. He's getting by on his size and fighting old men and small men. Even Michael Grant racked up 25 victories and a few wins over a couple of top 20 guys before Golota exposed him as a joke and Lennox took out the scraps. Same sh*t would happen to Joshua if he actually fought in a division with some actual talent instead of old men like Povetkin and bums.
Joshua looked like shit. He got his nose smashed because he still goes backwards in straight lines when he defends and he has no head movement. He looked like he had lead feet. I didn't see a guy 'take control' after three rounds at all. I saw someone who got more of a foothold in the fight because the guy he was fighting was 39 years old. He was losing the fight fairly handily on my card until he landed the big right hand. MTF
Solid finish by Joshua. He really needed to win in that fashion. Am I the only that thought Joshua looked out of sorts even before the first bell rang? Something about his appearance.
Joshua looked mediocre in places he should not have looked mediocre, I have never seen the guy to swing and miss that badly. He bends at the knees to throw a straight right to the body and does it worse than Vitali used to do it, he pushed out his jab and only snapped it a few times. He took Povetkin out in style, let's not forget, but there was a lot of shit prior to that. I said it looked like Arthritic Ron Lyle vs Syphilitic Jerry Quarry and I stand by that. Joshua looked like he had a steel bar up his ass and Povetkin looked like a weaker underpowered guy who knew better than his bigger opponent but just couldn't maintain it. Once his feet slowed up enough that he couldn't get in and get out he was an open book but prior to that, he looked the business. 39 years of age, a lot of water under the bridge.......a guy like Joshua should be shutting him out and ending it. Fury would have handled Povetkin. Fury has the ability to make easy things hard, a la Cunningham, but when he is tuned up and on his game he doesn't have sweat with short ass guys who bring a compact style. When Fury blows out his ass it is usually because he is carrying 20lbs of flab. Joshua doesn't have a pick on him but the mouth came open very very early last night. There is no point in comparing resumes here, the only point is that Joshua did badly a lot of things he should have done a lot better, and I wonder if it's just a case of his being under-prepared and Povetkin was underappreciated or more likely the case that a compact guy with some faith in his own skills will always bother a powerful oaf like Joshua. Because Joshua really did look oafish. Bad shot selection, feet all over the place, wide shots, poor timing. He has an awful sense of range at times especially where the other guy is moving. I think it was in the 2nd round that Joshua took a step back and then looked like he had stood on a pebble or a sharp nail, he just sort of tipped to one side like a guys foot catching on a badly laid carpet. I reiterate, he took the guy out in style, but........
It was entertaining and it has to be said that Joshua did not resort to grappling. But in the clinch he didn't seem much stronger in any case. However getting smacked in the head because you won't clinch is only marginally more advisable than clinching. Joshua got hit plenty despite having the advantages. I put it down to his horrific sense of range.
Yes but Joshua was bending over to try and hit Povetkin last night. He surrendered his advantages and resorted to a right hand from the outside......to the fucking body. I don't buy the notion that Joshua has progressed. I think he has size, some speed and power but he boxes by numbers a lot.
Pulev no........he doesn't really move his head and he's too tall and stand-offish. He'd allow Joshua to reach over and clock him, but he'd jab with AJ on even terms until that happened. Fury......yes. Has the tools, is a pure fighter, knows how to fight, would have the range and the selection and isn't afraid. He's also got great natural movement. Move, box, change stance, frustrate his man, and let his massive heavy arms do the punching for him......an expert at negotiating the distance and totally unafraid to do it, the crowd and the commentators be damned. Wilder......pick em. I still say the way to beat Joshua is more or less how Wlad was trying it. Show him he's not a 1 hitter quitter, show him that he is not a great boxer, take him deep and make him taste power along the way. Wilder is not that man. He COULD KO Joshua but that's a coin toss. Whyte........showed the same thing Povetkin did. Show composure, keep it compact, throw short hooks. But Whyte is a clown looking for a payday and he does not seem to have honed himself into a legit 12 round fast paced guy who can throw and maintain discipline for large stretches. Parker damn near took him out having had the worst of it early doors., Miller I never fucking heard of.
Miller doesn't look like a guy with the physique of a 12 round fighter. That said the best way, not the only way, to beat Joshua............is compact, educated, explosive style, good inside game and solid stamina and discipline. Hands up. Short punches. In, punch, counter, get out. Do that and you make Joshua look average as fuck.
The standard of these blokes really isn't much at all. Joshua got his nose smashed in by a 39 yr old midget with roid rage and went life and death with a 40 yr old with a glass jaw. They are his best wins. AJ v Wilder is an absolute pick 'em. Joshua has slightly better fundamentals but no defence and Wilder has about eight times more pure power than him. Whichever one lands first, wins IMO. MTF
Basically, agREED. Some of the shite I've read today beggars belief. The BBC is leading off with all kinds of tripe: Headline: Anthony Joshua: Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury 'not a problem'* says Barry Hearn *'subject to terms'. Report on the fight: 'His display showcased poise, intellect and power, sending a message to the heavyweight division that the champion will take some stopping'. 'He was getting the measure of Povetkin in the early rounds' 'I don't think Joshua was hurt or stung at all and that's an achievement. He was moving great, throwing different shots, so it was controlled and he didn't waste anything'. Lies. Lots and lots of lies. MTF
I watched the fight with 10 non-boxing fans, all of whom were keen to book a table for the next big fight. Wlad mother found his fights boring. Boxing's the entertainment industry and Joshua is big stuff
AGreed. The Guardian and the Comments section were at it last night too. I guess having the blood pissing out of your nose after 1 round against a guy 4 to 5 inches shorter and 28lbs lighter is the stuff of Greats. I agree with Hut, it's an entertainment business but it is also a sport and sports have standards and rules. And, as you yourself say, the entertainment angle is pitched very much at the Umbro-Kappa-Mong Fraternity
Prime Chavez was a relentless body puncher with a good chin and great stamina...so I guess Chavez could have taken down Pavlik? Virtually the same size difference
Yes but Joe Frazier probably hit as hard as Anthony Joshua. Frazier could reach Ali.......he's definitely reaching Anthony Joshua who has a horrendous understanding of range and distance. JC CHavez never hit as hard as Taylor or even Martinez. It's poor from you Sly, vay vay poor indeed.
Hell no! What you fellas have to realize is that if Weight divisions continued after 200lbs at the same “rate” (for want of a better way to put it) a guy like Frazier would be at least three divisions lighter than Joshua. Y’all assume that all heavyweights are the same size....they are NOT!
I would like to commiserate Joe Frazier on his having gone from the ability to beat all modern heavyweights to his ability to beat none of them. Such a turnaround and in such a short space of time. It's quite the, ahem, contrast.
Yes, old man Povetkin bloodied Joshua's nose. Since when has it been expected that a fight between #1 and #3 ranked guys is a mere blowout and a walk in the park? When has it happened that the champion doesn't get hit at all, in a title defense against a credible opponent? Wlad did that, but I suppose few would want Joshua fighting like him. This is what I don't get with all this criticism.
Wilder KO win. Fury Decision win. Whyte, Miller and Pulev KO wins. I actually think Joshua's toughest opponent would be Usyk.
AJ’s stiffness is what makes him so vulnerable. He has no upper body movement, and almost no sense of distance. A little side note, Povetkin’s footwork was very impressive, especially for a 39 year old. And that’s the thing. Smokin Joe would have consistently closed the distance on AJ and forced him to fight a pace he wouldn’t be comfortable fighting. AJ’s stamina is dire. In part because of his muscles, but also due to how rigid he is. Probably the nervous energy he has. I think Joe forces a referee stoppage on AJ as he lands unanswered barrages against a tiring Joshua.
Nostalgia is a hell of a drug. Had we not had timing, people would have insisted that JC Owens would have beaten Usain Bolt too. Joshua would have beaten Joe down before he had chance to smoke
Povetkin tried that too, but didn't get very far with that plan. Now, Frazier is almost certainly better than Povetkin, but you can't draw a conclusion as straight as Frazier had better stamina -> therefore Frazier wins in the late rounds. Povetkin grew tired as the rounds went on, and a lot of that had to do with the size difference. Joshua didn't do all that much visibly, but this is just how size difference works. His jab landed with weight, he landed some to the body wtc. whereas Povetkin had to burn the energy to get close with those sharp attacks. Frazier had more tank than Povetkin and he would slip many shots too, but the size difference would wear down his strength faster than the actual pace of the fight should
Pulev is a joke, and dont deserves that we talk about him. Miller could trouble aj if he can take his power. Hes relentless, and very strong