How good can Anthony Joshua be?

"miles off Lennox Lewis" yet claimed he's better than Bruno ( anyone should see this) but didn't Bruno match Lewis in their fight until he tired out ( Bruno had NO stamina) so explain how Lewis who also was rocked by Briggs and wobbled twice in their fight and k'od twice by inferior fighters is miles ahead of Joshua and even went the distance with Tucker another guy with notably less skills and power than Joshua?? At least in that year Lewis fought him. I missed that part how lewis is miles ahead of Joshua. I understand gaging someone takes somewhat time period to do so ,but if you cant see that Joshua does do things better than Lewis did then you really aren't paying attention.

Heres a 2 year old video... is now 2 years later.

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Joshua is potentially my favourite fighter to watch so posts like this annoy me because they turn people against him, how can you say he is already on the same level as Lewis, klitschko and Tyson in h2h matches? With his lack of experience against top level fighters he could get wiped out by any of those 3 in their prime.

 

Something I don't think gets talked about as much as it should with AJ, or at least I think will be talked about more in future, is that he certainly looks to have a nasty streak.

I'm not saying it as a criticism either. He's been incredibly well managed by Matchroom to have a nice guy attitude. This has worked wonders so far and has won him a lot of fans. However we've seen him hit a few guys when they've been down, we've seen him really want to punish opponents, and he wasn't all that holy in the Whyte skirmishes. There are lots of stories about his background that aren't all too savoury as well. All this has been nicely glossed over.

I'm not saying he's a bad guy, far from it. I think he's someone to look up to now. But I'd wager as soon as he starts getting into deep waters we'll see another side of his character and how far he will go to win. This isn't going to be another David Price where he is too nice of a guy to a fault. I don't see there being much quit in Joshua. I think we are going to see some very gritty, resolute and entertaining stuff from him when the chips are down.

 

I get that feeling too. He kinda trades on that image of being able to steamroller anyone he fights, and to be fair so far so good. Trouble is, it's impossible to draw any serious conclusions about his ability to continue doing so because of the poor opposition he's been up against so far. But once he's loses that sense of invincibility - he's not going to end his career with an '0' so it will happen eventually - does he have the ring IQ to adapt like Wlad did after a series of stoppages, or ATG Lewis did after his two KO losses? AJ won't be as confident and opponents less fearful. It's only then when we can truly judge him as a fighter. It's comical how some people want to anoint him already as a future ATG.

 

AJ might one day be on the lewis/Bruno level but he will never be as good as k-2/Fury

 

This....

 

I'm talking about what would help him develop as a fighter, not whether he deserves more or less credit, and not what the critics might say.

The fact of the matter is : sooner or later he will be in a tough and extended fight. It's better it happens sooner and against a fighter who may lack a little his youth, ambition or ability, so he can overcome the obstacle, rather than a devastating defeat against a fighter who proves superior.

 

A Prime and fully-focused Fury would have the temerity to actually move and not stand still right in front of AJ and offer his chin for punching practice like Martin and Brastrap (or whatever his name was). Prime Vitali would result in a brutal stoppage for Mr Beats Headphones, and prime Wlad would tease out an easy UD or possibly late stoppage. Wald in 2017? Hearn might have timed that fight just right for his cashcow...

 

Sky's the limit for AJ imo. Not only has he got all the physical tools, more importantly he seems extremely solid mentally which is increasingly rare in the HW division. I wouldnt favor any active fighter to beat him.

 

Yeah he seems to have his head screwed on right.

 

If we are not counting Fury as active, then I tend to agree with you. I'm not anti-AJ by any means. He could develop into a dominant champion over the next few years. But he needs sterner tests before we can truly judge. Molina won't provide any answers tomorrow night, I don't think. If he beats a faded (but still dangerous) Wlad early next year then I'll sit up and take more notice. Until then his best win is Whyte (replace the 'W' with an 'S') and beating Molina would barely surpass that.

 

With the line of guys he keeps fighting will we ever find out? He has a long way to go to be as good as Lennox Lewis. Heck, he is a far distance from Bruno who wasn't very good.

 

Wasn't counting Fury as active but I agree he is probably the hardest fight out there for him, as long as he can get his head together.

 

For a guy 17 fights in his resume is very good. Which active HWs had a better resume at this stage of their career?

 

I agree with that. This is who Wilder fought in his 17th... lol

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