How good can Anthony Joshua be?

Perhaps the biggest danger to AJ is the hype surrounding him.
If he does happen to get KO'd or schooled sometime soon it could be devastating to his confidence and the public's perception of him, and he could become easy prey for other heavyweights.
Of course that's true of any rated undefeated fighter, but the bigger the hype and expectations, the bigger the crash.

The easy fights are not helping him.
He needs a tough-ish fight that goes the distance. Critics will have a go at him if it happens with a less-than-stellar opponent but it's better than the quick blow-outs mounting up.
I think Joseph Parker was helped by the Takam fight, despite people saying (reasonably) it exposed his weaknesses.

 

Many fans compare AJ to Bruno, but I disagree.

AJ hits at least as hard (if not harder) than Bruno, and overall is more polished boxer with better speed and movement.

I think AJ may have better chin too but it's too early to call.

But will AJ reach an ATG status? Far too early to say that.

How he'll do if he loses? Will it break his mentality and motivation?

How good is his stamina against top HWs? Is his stamina good enough if fight goes to the later rounds?

What about motivation for the next 10 years? Will big money and British superstar status influence him?

What if he starts training less and eating more?

We don't know answers on these questions.

But he has the potential to be an ATG HW if he stays motivated and if he has strong mentality

 

Right now AJ is not better than Bruno. Bruno used to put bums out cold. I think AJ is the stronger and has the more thudding blows but Bruno's one punch KO power was bigger than AJ. AJ is definitely stiffer and less mobile than Bruno was. Hand speed and shot selection is pretty even but Bruno had better body shots and a jab levels above AJ's. Bruno was a lot better than people think or remember.

 

Yes Bruno had better jab.

But he looked slow vs Lennox, Tyson and McCall, maybe I need to watch his earlier fights

 

The only live dog he's faced was Whyte and he had real trouble with him even though Whyte was not 100%. Molina is a cherry pick just like Breazeale was, a fall guy that will go five or six rounds. We certainly cannot gauge Joshua long-term on guys like this. I think he will be protected and kept away from people like Povetkin and Parker. Wlad they think is old and shot but personally I expect Wlad to KO him.

 

I like Joshua, I honestly do but I have this nagging feeling that if/when he gets beat he won't be the same again, I think he has that look of a fighter that once the bubble bursts it will all go south.

I really hope I'm wrong.

 

Bruno was definitely more mobile in his earlier fights but I still think the more bulkier Bruno was more mobile than AJ. Bruno gets an unfair rep of being stiff and Robotic because he competed in an era with Lewis and Tyson. If he was around in this era of heavies he would look like Willie Pep lol

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Just a little reminder of the peoples champ ^

 

I've been to the majority of Joshuas fights and watched all the others including the Olympics... He is the real deal!!!

Plus my partner is in love with him so we have to travel round to watch him in the flesh

100% will unify a poor heavyweight division and reach top 10 P4P

But he is not without his faults;

Movement is very robotic (As Fury and Haye say) / Someone with a quick jab would be able to hit him every-time
Shot selection is basic / 17 KO victories and not one of them had a body shot in sight... I know it's not used as often with the HW's but is vital to slow your opponent down... Against Breazeale I dont remember him working the body once

Un-Answered questions;

Stamina - I know from speaking to him personally and his training team that he trains for 15 rounds... Can't see this being an issue but you always worry he might punch himself out in a tougher fight... Personally I don't see that happening though

Chin - Vital for all GREAT HW's to have an amazing chin... He has only taken 1 big shot of note from Whyte and that shook him... Whyte doesn't have natural power IMO which is worrying... Maybe the shot just caught him by surprise though

Defence - What will happen if someone starts throwing punches back??? If Wlad has remastered his jab in April... Will be interested to see how he wants to defend, will he look to parry of slip shots... We have no idea because it hasn't happened yet

But he has some unbelievable traits;

Jab - People will say otherwise on this one but this is one of his biggest assets... He has natural power to split the guard with a jab.. It's speed is amazing as well... Also he shows a good understanding of range

Power - Probably the most obvious statement ever but YES he is a strong lad... Most impressive is he doesn't have to load up punches unlike other heavyweights... It makes his punches more difficult to see coming

Killer Instinct - Comparisons have been made to Frank Bruno but Bruno didn't have the ruthless streak that AJ has... At times he is a dirty fighter with shots on the way down and shots after the bell etc... If he smells blood he is lethal

Attitude - He seems fully genuine in the way he comes across he gives everything in the gym every single day and you can tell

Team - Boxing is now not an individual sport... Hearn has looked after him very well so far and built up his popularity around the UK nicely... But the biggest move recently is signing Rob McCracken as permanent coach... If you are unfamiliar with the name he doesn't often coach professional boxers.. He heads up Team GB's amateur set up but famously coached Carl Froch for the majority of his amazing career

I know I have written a bit of an essay here but in short AJ is well worth a watch every time he puts them gloves on... He will lose in his career but will also win some amazing fights

Prediction (Joshua vs Molina) - Molina will stick to his promise and go for a big punch in RD1... Joshua will catch him with a couple of nice shots in RD1 and Molina will think F-THAT... Then he will return to survival mode and barely throw a shot for the next few rounds before AJ knocks him down with a 1-2 that splits the guard in the 5/6 round... The fight will be stopped the next round after a barrage of punches from AJ as he pushes the pace

 

Nice breakdown but you are underestimating his defence and footwork to have superior dictation of the fight . He doesnt need to move his head excessively bc he catches/blocks shots with either the forearms at the side of his head or elbows using mainly a slight bobbing motion . This uses less energy and puts him in direct position to counter .

His best work is on the inside where he does throw body to head combinations ,rewatch some k.o highlits on youtube . Go to the post on this thread i posted it will sum up what you said for the most part on the previous page .

 

Being better doesnt mean you will have a longer success ,as stated the thread in general is not about NOW ,its about COULD or be . I brought up Lewis to show where he stands now ,this shouldn't be that difficult . Reread the thread topic.

 

Having seen his key amateur fights, and most of his professional recent fights I can comment.

The pro: He's very big, fast, skilled and hits hard. A skilled super heavyweight and those type have ruled the division for most years since the early 1990's. That alone means he can be champion for a while as the talent level has dipped a bit at heavyweight and with fragment champions, his title opponent choices aren't going to be great.

The con: His chin could be had in the amateurs, down or stopped in different fights in a short career. That will not change much in the pro's once he's vs an opponent who can punch. Can Joshua clinch well if needed? That remains to be seen.

His defense is average, open to a right hand in my opinion with little head movement. The faster fighters in the amateurs bettered him. I also think he's too muscle bound and might have late round stamina issues to the point where he throws a lot less from rounds 6-12, or in a fight that presses him get tired and losses because of it.

To answer your question: To be a top 10 pound for pound fighter, you have to beat many top ten level opponents. To date, Joshua has not beaten one top ten ranked opponent. So he's not close to being there.

My conclusion: Is he better than Lennox Lewis? No. Is he better than Frank Bruno? I think so, but not by a large margin. Joshua already said he wants to retire in 5 years. This pisses me off. Once a fighter talks about retiring, he's working to exit. Heavyweight boxing needs him

 

Trust me, none of this has proved difficult...

 

Actually it was for you . You were the one who suggested its to early to tell because he isnt an ATG ,which is ridiculous because to achieve that takes longentivity ,nothing to do with the direction hes currently going which is the topic .

 

You just sound confused. I'll draw a line under this and go seek out some intelligent debate. Adios, it's been emotional....

 

The reason why Joshuas fights were easier is because he made them easier because he is the better fighter. You caht and shouldn't give extra points because Parker struggled ,thats backwards .

People are already in doubt of Joshua BC of one left hook in rnd two,heaven forbid he actually did struggle ,he would be bum for a life time . lol

You have to give credit to the dominant fighter regardless and remember everyone always fights the champion harder.