Anthony Joshua vs Vladimir Klitchko. Official pick em and why.

I thought Wladimir Klitschko was good against Pulev.
Of course it's ugly stuff but it's heavyweight boxing. His punching was tremendous against Pulev.

People forget how ugly/boring some Lennox Lewis fights were too. Muhammad Ali was a "jab and grab" artist too.
Klitschko's been under-appreciated over the years.

It's okay young guys like AJ looking thrilling every fight knocking over tomato cans but when he steps up to top level it doesn't always look so neat and tidy. Effectiveness is the main thing.

 

The way these pair have been carrying on with each other I imagine they will touch lips instead of gloves before the fight starts.

 

the closer it gets the more I am swaying towards Klitschko. Wlad is a smart man, he wouldn't go into the fight completely shot, which I think is AJ's only chance at this level. AJ has spoken about levels and I think he will be in for a bit of a rude awakening.

I think he will be limited against Wladimir's ten year experience as champ. a lot of people seem to think AJ will bulldoze Klit but he may well get caught with a right hand that could either put him down or at least slow him down, so he wont be this destroyer we have been seeing.

At the the level AJ is at in comparison to Klitschko it all hinges on the old man having nothing left but I have the feeling Wlad has enough to expose AJ's lack of championship experience. I wouldnt even rule out AJ getting knocked out mid to late rounds. Whyte wobbled him, so a harder punch might suggest he could be in trouble, its not like he isn't open for it.

Anyway I see AJ getting out boxed and looking limited. It would be great if he went in there and destroyed Klitschko and was the second coming but I dont see it, the reality i see is a guy that has been hyped a lot, has skill but is basically unproven.

 

It's got a bit of a David Haye vs Carl Thompson feel about it. Youth is expected to blow sway the over the hill veteran. AJ had stated he wants to spark him early which I'm surprised about but then again, maybe he's acknowledging that he can't outbox Klitschko.

I've always fancied Klitschko for the victory here but changed my mind on the method. I think he could get stopped in the last 4 rounds IF he Burns a lot of gas going for a quick KO.

 

That USB lark was all a bit weird wasn't it

Made the cogs of Eddies mind turn though

He looked uncomfortable

 

I've gone for a wlad Ud. Too many questions over Joshua..I think wlad may genuinely past it but Joshua is so stiff and robotic that it kinda plays in to wlads hands. If he establishes the jab and Joshua goes into his shell trying to pace himself over the later rounds. it will be a boring jab and grab fest and Joshua won't have the head movement or footwork to do anything about it.

I do think there is a chance that wlad won't let his hands go enough. v jennings he didn't put much behind the jab at all and that could be Joshua chance.

Can't wait to be honest. Just hope we get a clear winner.

 

I'm inclined to agree with you, also a big issue for me is how muscled up Aj is I feel that Wladcould avoid the serious danger until his opponent gets tired. You don't really want giant arm's if you're a boxer, at least in my opinion, I don't think power comes from the arms but it's a lot of muscle to hold up. Also the thing to remember is both a skinny guy in a huge guy have the same sized heart to pump more blood around to all the Extremities.

 

Thats a very good example, although obviously there is much more on the line in this one, and The Cat had a very stout set of whiskers.

For those of us who are old enough to remember Bruno coming through the ranks, there are many similarities to Joshua's career so far, although i may be slightly out on the numbers, so apologies if i'm not spot on. Bruno was a massive puncher, with a very impressive physique, but his movement and technique were more wooden than slick, but heres the thing, he was so big, strong and heavy handed that it didn't matter at that stage.

If memory serves me correctly wasn't Bruno something like 22 - 0, all by KO when he fought Bonecrusher ? Also worth noting is that Smith was a relative novice, and not a seasoned veteran. Bruno was cruising, he was jabbing Smiths head off, had shaken Smith several times, and had won every round. BUT as the rounds wore on the pace slowed and those big heavy arms started to tire. After throwing a sloppy flurry Bruno was clipped by a short left hand and he absolutely fell to pieces, Smith unloaded on Bruno and finally dropped him hard and he was counted out.

Could we see a similar scenario play out Saturday, or is Wlad as shot and fragile as some are suggesting ?

 

yep thats a big factor as well. boxing history has shown the muscle bound guys don't fair great. its a case of looking at AJ and being so impressed by his physique it can cloud judgement. you cant be fast for 12 rounds with arms like that. Wlad seems very confident, he has a knowing aura about him at the moment.

 

reminds me a bit of calzaghe v Lacy as well, in the way Lacy was a muscle bound beast with the unbeaten aura but it meant nothing to slick boxing skills, was scary to see how outclassed he was. appearance and muscles dont amount to much in boxing do they.

 

Someone ask Spencer Fearon that question and watch him answer then go off on a tangent and try and impress us all with his 'knowledge' because he can name a fight in a fighters career with similar traits

 

Single shots won't beat Joshua.

Wlad can fight one way and one way only. If the jab isn't landing his totally screwed. AJ will get around that jab and once that happens Wlad will simply try to clinch.

 

interesting how close the poll is, I'm getting the same impression from the pundits and the pod casts. This is what boxing is all about, really intriguing matchup, is gonna be fascinating to see who pulls it off.

 

Posted this in the general and can't be bothered to type something similar out again so please for give th copy and paste LOL


My prediction is a WK win, I think it will be decided by WK's left hand.

I've watched both fighters last couple of fights this week and although WK looked poor in both I think he still has enough about him to cause AJ serious problems, especially with his left hand.

The Fury fight was dreadful from WK but AJ is almost the complete opposite to Fury, Fury is seriously unpredictable, he changes stance, sways around, flicks little shots for all angles, has very good footwork and a superb appreciation of distance. AJ is far more straight forward for WK's style.

Have to throw this in, the referee might play a huge part if he stops WK sticking that left hand out, if he deems it to be blinding AJ then WK might have a problem with warnings or even point deductions.

We've seen WK stick that left hand put like a measuring stick, it also blocks large parts of his opponents vision, this I think will be a huge problem for AJ because I believe AJ is very susceptible to a left hook.

So I believe WK has to keep touching AJ's right glove with his left hand, tap it, jab it, slap it, keep threatening that left hand, keep AJ thinking twice about shooting that straight right hand, also the angle of that huge left hand sticking out cuts down the target for AJ. AJ isn't a hooker, he isn't Mike Tyson, he is not going to weave underneath that left arm.

I'm not ignoring AJ's explosiveness, his athletic ability or youth but I just believe WK has the size, tools, style and experience to take quite a bit of AJ's game away.

So I'm going WK by stoppage, I'm not sure on when, it depends on AJ and how much he risks and when he risks it but I think WK's left hand wins him the fight.