What does Wlad see in AJ that makes him think he can win?

He sees a chance to take it past 7 rnds and really that is the only what if and what transpires from rnd one to seven IF the fight is still going. However this only plays into Wlads hands if hes comfortably ahead on the cards which i dont see happening. As far as weaknesses? We dont know if there will be any on joshua bc he is getting harder to hit each fight and really adding to his game with every fight,Wlad on the other hand???

Klitchko will be fighting on whatever Joshua creates who will press the fight and try and create openings which really all he needs is to get close where wlad cant jab. Joshua is far to good of an inside to mid range fighter,if Wlad does not know this well he better fire whoever is making a game plan bc he will not win if hes planning on baiting a hold and hit mid range game. Wlad himself said its a 50/50 fight which should tell you if hes saying that what level Joshua is at. I think Wlad is just going in there and hoping something opens up.....HOPING! I really dont beleive he sees much he can take advantage of beyond hooking of the jab with his left hook which COULD catch Joshua.

 

He knows how he became more assertive again Samuel Peter and won, and he knows this time again he can take on a more aggressive, assertive approach for this fight and win quite easily as I see it


Wlad has not declined as some seem to think and he is on a level above Joshua, if not two levels above


Vlad is well aware of his own ability as he knows he has dominated for 10 years and he knows he is the best heavyweight out there---- and just wants to prove it

His decline has been vastly overstated and in April you will see just how much he has in the tank


Wlad by mid round KO

 

But ... but ... but, a large part of the board thinks that AJ schools a prime Ali. This can't be right, surely?

 

you guys are really, really underestimating wlad, even if he is fading, this guy has ruled the division for a decade for a reason - he's a ****ing good boxer.

 

Joshua is pretty robotic and doesn't have alot of "rythm" so I think that's it. Only a gypsy slickster can mess with Wladimir.

 

Ive said all along,the one thing you can actually puck out without guesswork that joshua is lacking is his footwork isnt the best.hes not needed it to be so far but it was telling in the whyte fight,and wlad does have very good footwork.
His chin isnt granite,and if wlad lands flush it could be curtains,but that aside i'm going for joshua early.
Wlad didnt age vs fury,and its a discredit to fury to suggest he did.
Hes never been free flowing and eager with his right hand,and to say hes all of a sudden become reluctant with the right hand ,wouldvsuggest you havent watched the ladt 10nyears of his career.
Hes terrified of getting hit,he had a run of fighting smaller opponents he could jab and grab,or the taller fighters he did fight were poor.that is what fury exposed,not age.and if he was scared to throw vs fury because of what was coming back,then he is gonna be 10 fold vs someone who is actually looking to engage and take his head off.

 

To be fair,a massive reason also is because he was the only super heavyweight shall we say that was anywhere near elite level

 

Good post.

I think that the problem with Fury was that Fury used a lot of movement and totally messed up Wlad's rythmn with his feints and jabs. Also that guy has a huuuge wingspan. AJ will imho be easier technically for Wlad than Fury was. The flipside is that AJ is massively strong, and has a good basic skillset. Not such an easy prospect, especially when one is ancient in boxing terms.

I completely have no idea who will win this.

 

When wlad went to manny steward he was damaged goods

I agree fury confused him,but it exposed how reliant he was on the jab and grab also.he was lost,and joshua is the same size as wlad,hes going to be forced to fight.something else people arent picking up on is that since brewster 1 hes not had to fight hard round after round,in this fight i think he will,and one thing that isnt goint to get better with age is his gas tank.
I the wlads best chance is to actually meet fire with fire early and try to get him out of there.hes got a tremendous jab,instead of initiating a clinch off of it he needs to have the right hand behind it every time,just cant see it though

 

We know nothing about Joshua's stamina he hasn't gone past 7 rounds and he hasn't even fought at a high pace yet. Because of the guys he has fought he has been able to sit back and throw his punches when he wants in a relaxed/controlled fashion. What happens if he is forced to up the pace and the fight makes it to the championship rounds? For me it just comes down to there being too many 'unknowns' with Joshua.

 

True,buth of their frames and physiques would suggest a long fast paced fight would be of detriment.one thing i will say tho is that wlad is provenly bad when hes had to dig deep,and alarmingly so to the point he cant lift his hands up and more than once,whereas joshua was rocked,weathered the storm and looked fresh in the 7th when taking out white.
It is the great unknown as you say tho as aj hadnt gone padt the 7th

 

From what I'm hearing Wlad thinks that he's faster than Joshua and he might be.

 

We know much more about Wlad's stamina than we do Joshua's. If Wlad puts the Jab on him early and uses his above average footwork (for someone his size) how is Joshua going to react? We haven't seen Joshua have to dig deep or fight at a fast pace yet. It comes down to will Wlad's huge experience be enough to conquer Joshua's youth and power. To me it can go either way.

 

Thats why i said he needs to establish the jab,but also work off it,which is something he doesnt do,his first reaction is always to grab off it.he needs to try keep joshua honest,and let him know whos boss.if aj gets him backing off and he wont let his big right go its curtains.no way he beats aj on the jab alone

 

I think we are on the same page. Trying to clinch with AJ is a non starter because Joshua is clearly stronger than him just by looking at him. I also think that Wlad needs to either lay AJ out early or establish his power early. He can't have AJ simply walking him down because that will be doom.

I know Wlad has demonstrated a bad gas tank in the past, but then, he fought at a much higher pace in the past. Against Fury he didn't look half bad, and imho it was the much younger Tyson that was fading late. On the other hand, here's a thought. Joshua's immense muscularity may well help things like his power and punch resistance, but I have a feeling that it may play against him in a long fight. Super-muscular guys (and I'm including Wlad himself in this category I think) tend to crash spectacularly when they over-exert themselves and there's nothing left in the tank to feed their beefcake body. Frank Bruno comes to mind, for example. Shane Carwin vs Lesnar, Mariusz Pudz vs Sylvia in MMA are other examples.