General forum consensus was always that Wilder would probably have beaten AJ had they fought. To be fair, I think we sold AJ short. I'm willing to admit my thinking was wrong. I think that in all likelihood, Joshua would have iced Wilder. Not that Joshua is some great; Wilder just really, really fucking sucks. So yeah, I'll admit it. Joshua would have KO'd Wilder had they met in their primes or now.
I was one of those that initially thought Wilder would have stopped AJ, but that was when Ruiz shocked everyone and AJ looked unimpressive beating Ruiz in the rematch. Looking back I think some people really overestimated Wilder’s abilities outside of his power. A sharp, focused, and motivated AJ would destroy any version of Wilder.
Not a chance now. His bum ass can't even pull the trigger now. This is more a question of prime for prime.
Would have come down to who lands big first. Stylistically, it’s a good match up for AJ because Wilder gives away a lot of rounds and his chin is also dodgy. But AJ does gas out a lot so it would have been compelling. Wilder is shot today. He’d lose to anyone at or near the top today.
I'm trying to sat that any version of an AGGRESSIVE Joshua would KO Wilder. Wilder is absolutely inept if a good fighter backs him up. A passive AJ? Then Wilder has a chance.
This is a flawed premise, the whole thing......the game is as much psychology as it is physicality or styles.....the AJ that got draped over the ropes by Usyk in the first fight, if he fights the Wilder who was victory -dancing over a stricken Fury in their first fight.....he loses....badly. Do that process for multiple stages of their careers..... you'll find yourself giving different answers every time. AJ ices nGannou ......destroys Wilder that lost to Parker.....AJ that got blasted by Fat Andy...loses to Wilder that struggled with Szpilka. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Joshua was in a bad place after the Usyk II fight, so bad they had to drip feed him bummage to keep him alive. Gene Wilder might have fucking killed him at that stage..
I agree he was in a bad place. Wilder beats that AJ. I'm trying to say that pre-Ruiz upset AJ beats Wilder.
Probably, but it's not a certainty for me. Neither guys is a great boxer and AJ's punch resistance and ability to dig deep doesn't inspire confidence. All it takes is one. I'm not one to favor somebody with only a "puncher's chance" but this one isn't like a million to one lottery.
I get that.....because he would have had the "ignorance".....never having tasted defeat or questioning his abilities he'd have acted accordingly. This is the same point I tried to make about Wlad giving Lewis a good fight at one point. A guy with a dodgy chin who doesn't know he's got a dodgy chin has as good a chance as anyone..
I think AJ has heart. He's never quit or resigned himself to defeat and just gone through motions. He's always kept on keeping on no matter how wrong he was in his application..
I think it's always been somewhere around a 50/50. It's whoever landed first, and could go either way. I do think Joshua is at the best he's been since at least the Wlad fight.
I think Joshua has always suffered from imposter syndrome, now that's off his back and he no longer has to live up to an impossible standard he can settle into a routine with no fear of being exposed.
Joshua is too hittable for "peak" Wilder. The current Wilder might be too ponderous to beat Joshua now, but then again Parker also out-boxed Zhang who was supposedly the HW boogeyman so who the fuck knows All I know is that Slow Joe Joyce went from potential retirement back to contender again
I don’t know. Back when they were undefeated, I had Joshua as the favorite due to being more fundamentally sound. Then later on I thought Wilder would have won in the mid rounds after losing most of the fight. Who knows now. They should have fought 5 years ago.
Apart from appearing to be shot, Wilder just looks like he doesn’t really want to fight anymore. The three fights with Fury clearly took a lot out of him.
Maybe we were wrong, but AJ beating a novice, even though it was an amazing ko, is no reason to change our mind.
