If AJ fights Breazeale, will the Wilder haters condemn AJ?

I rate Breazeale somewhere between top 20-30. Personally, I think it would be uninspiring but a decent enough fight for a first defense, particularly since it would be 3 months after he first won a belt. But Wilder got condemned for fighting similar level fighters in his defenses. Molina has since proven himself a top 20-30 type guy, but at the time was fringe top 50. Duhaupas was top 20-30 and has since shown himself top 15-20. Spilzka was and is fringe top 20. All have turned out to be as good or better than Breazeale.

Will AJ get the pass that Wilder didn't?

 

To be fair, I think some people's problem was that he faced 3 similar level fighters in a row.

But, now he's facing someone generally regarded as the #3 HW in the division and the best non K of the second half of the K era. So that should shut down those criticisms if he wins, but I suspect it wont.

 

If Joshua wants the classic easy first title defense Breezy is the man, but if he wants to prove any point (Eric Molina & Johan Duhaupas) are waiting :think

 

I wouldn't like it as an opponent, but wouldn't really be mad about it.
We all knew this was coming. He wants an American, and besides Wilder (who's tied up) they're a lot of hasbeens and never were's, and some on a bad streak.

Beating up another overmatched American will certainly sell to the highly patriotic British crowd, even a lot of the ones that know what's up.

So unless he pulls a Wilder and fights another voluntary next, and another after, I'm fine with it.

 

I wouldn't be happy if Breazeale was his first defence, he needs to be progressing not fighting the 4th unproven fighter in a row. I don't think such a fight does anything for him.

But it is a first defence so I can be forgiving, but if the following defence is a similar level opponent I'd be very critical of the direction he is going in.

 

You usually have some intelligent opinions. What do you think if he jumps from Breazeale straight to Fury? Personally, I think that would be really stupid matchmaking setting him up for failure.

 

Hughie Fury is scheduled to fight Fred Kassi on April 30th.
Most people thought Kassi was robbed badly in his last fight ... against Dominic Breazeale!
But then, despite the hype, Joshua is, and still is, at the same stage as Hughie Fury. The IBF title is a joke.

Wilder has deserved all his criticism so far, but the moment of truth is coming against Povetkin. The Russian is a legitimate contender, by any standard.

 

Breazeale wouldn't be a better challenger than Duhaupas,(I was fine with Szpilka) but there's a big difference between Wilder and Joshua. One of them was a pro for a little over than two years with 16 fights when he won the title, the other one was a pro for almost 7 years and 33 fights.

 

i wouldnt be hard on joshua because he has only been pro 2 and a half years and has tried to step up quickly and only has 34 rounds under his belt

on the other hand at this stage wilder was pro over 7 years and had 30 something fights but only seemed interested in facing cans before and after he got his title

although hughie fury is facing better opposition than joshua if he does face this guy

 

Breazeales decent I'd like to see him fight big baby Miller though

 

Bum squad!

 

If he fights 3 Breazeale's back to back, he will get all the flame for sure. That's practically impossible though since he's the IBF champ and IBF is not WBC to let such travesty.

 

The biggest thing to consider really is who is there better for him to face around June-July who isnt already tied up one way or another.

 

Because Martin was such a bum, I think AJ used his pass already. Sorry.

Wilder, who I think would get KO'd by Joshua at least fought a ranked guy for his title shot. Then Wilder belt milked a bunch of non-top ten guys.

Breazeale is a slow big man with limited skills and a decent punch. He's a little soft, and like you said is not a top 20 guy. More like top 25-35, Joshua will KO him quickly.

 

the ranked guy he beat took a dive in the first round