Comparing Lennox Lewis and Anthony Joshua 19 months of pro career

AJ looks like the real deal to me. Solid fundamentals, can bang, not stupid. We will see how he reacts when put under pressure and after his first loss. That will define his character.

Definitely one to watch out for!

 

joshua is ahead at this point ...

 

I'd say Joshua is slightly ahead. But Lewis then fought Mason and Weaver in his next 2 fights so to stay ahead Joshua will need to beat an undefeated, highly ranked puncher and a former champion in the next 5 months to stay ahead which is a big ask.

 

Joshua arguably has had the better first 13 fights. But as stated above, this is where Lewis started stepping up to title fights and proper opponents.

Joshua needs to do the same.

 

We saw in Lennox around his 19/20th fight he can handle pressure. We need to see the same from AJ next. How does he deal with a top 15 guy who is not a victim and didn't come to lose?

 

I would say about even. Lewis obviously had a more extensive amateur background. Both extremely physically strong. AJ is a fine athlete.

 

Fight #15 was Lewis's real step up, when he fought Gary Mason, who was 35-0 and actually a very solid fighter with good power and durability (bit slow, of course) and world ranked by the WBC.
Lewis went in as a slight underdog in the betting.

The way Lewis performed there really surprised a lot of people.

If Joshua wants to be taken seriously he needs to take on a similar sort of opponent, someone who is a real threat and not some has-been.
The problem is, these days fighters know they can become world ranked and mandatory contenders without doing much at all ... look at Tyson Fury, for example.

 

:good

In Lewis's 14th fight he fought and won the European HW title.

I remember the Lewis-Mason fight. And an opponent on a par with Gary would be a huge step up for Joshua!! Mason (rip) was a big puncher and had plenty of heart and he gave Lewis a good fight that night (Gary had suffered at least one detached retina prior to the Lewis fight and his left eye ended up a mess in their fight , which lead to the tko loss against Lennox, which was Lennox's first European title defence).

I just want to see AJ in with someone who actually wants to hit him hard! Someone who actually wants to beat him.

Joshua looks the business, but until he is hit and put under some pressure by a quality, ambitious, durable opponent we simply do not know how good his chin, stamina and heart is.

If we go off his amateur career, he does not possess an iron beard. And I do genuinely wonder about his stamina.

He has finished collage, now it's time for the big fella to enter uni.. As a Brit I want AJ to graduate with honours, but as a reasonable boxing fan I realise that there are severe tests that he now must sit in the very near future.

 

Joshua certainly knows how to lose badly by stoppage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9sDcl2Cw

 

Good find. His defense was pretty bad.

 

Its almost identical to Vyacheslav Glazkov record at the same time , although Glazkov has wins over better versions of the same opponents.

There was zero hype around Glazkov then. The hype around AJ is getting out of hand.

Him sharing the main stage on a PPV card is ridiculous. I like to see guys earn that privilege.

 

I think AJ has to fight a guy the level of Wach/Ustinov next, then Pulev level in the next 1.5 years. Then he will have 18-19 fights and he should be a top 10 fighter by then. If he won those fights his records would also be light years better than Wilder's.

 

VG isn't a physical specimen or an Olympic Gold Medalist from a boxing country like AJ is.

VG is nothing special, very bland.

 

!!!
The Chisora who Fury beat in 2011 would probably knock out current Joshua if Joshua goes for an early KO himself.