I'm not convinced that AJ easily beats Louis or Liston anymore

That might be a bit tough. I'm extremely impressed so far with what they have put forward. Povetkin going in was Ring Rated #3. The fight before Joshua beat Parker who is still #6. He's already beaten Dillian Whyte who now sits at #5 and Breazeale who resides at #8. Then we have Wlad. That's a ridiculous amount of quality (ranking wise) in an 8 fight streak to be fair. The only way up at all is just Fury and Wilder really.

I like that there are some really solid matches being match and even better ones not far away. The divisions alive again.

 

I predicted a stoppage between the 7th and 9th rds and won some ££ . I'm not surprised Povetkin gave him some anxious moments with his speed,lucky for AJ Povetkin's age slowed him down after a few rounds.It was a good performance against a genuine top ranked contender,but AJ has never looked like a great fighter just a good one, and that is enough in today's heavyweight scene.Povetkin little?Bigger than Liston,Baer,heavier than Foreman,Ruddock,Cleveland Williams,Shavers,Tyson.He's big enough if he was good enough,Wlad proved he wasn't,but until AJ, no one else had.

 

AJ has beaten 4 of the men ranked in the top ten and he has done this with just 21 fights under his belt. In contrast Wilder with 40 some fights has beaten one ranked fighter.
AJ isnt great and probably never will be ,but I think he is the best out there.

 

Bingo Mac. A fight with Wilder is mouth watering as AJ can be hit and hurt and Wilder sure can hit. I reckon AJ could take Wilder out just as easily too. We'd see both very cautious early but when it explodes lookout.

 

Yes it is, but I always prefer to do so once a fighter has retired.

 

Reading through these posts I wonder if one who didn't already know it would believe that AJ became the very first to stop Povetkin and only the second man to beat him. The first one being a fighter in one of the most dominant streaks in boxing history.

But I have to say that Povetkin's performance really showed how great Wlad's one-sided win over a younger version of him was.

 

Muscle man. And like most musclemen it’s the built up part about him that has made him a top fighter.

He hits hard. Too hard even, and though he is brave it’s still “manufactured machine” all the same.

 

I think jaco makes a good point actually.

The fighters you list here were good fighters who had a lot more fights. There is not the film to show it but statistically most of them would be tough in any era.

 

Ha! You almost had me there for a second.

 

Great post.

 

I have been quite impressed with AJ from the off if I'm honest, and I think there is a bit more to see as yet. However, as with his other fights, his last one did exaggerate that left of his hanging down (I'm on about his hand) a little like Larry Holmes did. We will have to see what a good right hand counter-puncher does against him. Time will tell.

 

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Really?

 

Yes, 39 is an advanced age, but I never saw it mentioned before the fight. Maybe I missed it, but all I saw was that Povetkin was a very live contender, which he indeed turned out to be.

Not many have wins over great fighters that aren't washed up and preciously few over prime great fighters, so that can hardly be the standard. Yes, Povetkin is 39, but looked as good to me as anyone for example Tyson or Holmes beat.

With that said, Joshua's defence looked more leaky than I had expected. But he also fought a far less cynical fight than Wlad did. Adopting something like mature Wlad's more cynical approach would probably give Joshua a better chance at emulating his dominance, but I still hope he doesn't.

 

Poverkin has been on a slide for quite a while. This was news to no one and has been mentioned. AJ looked ponderous, a bit confused at times but strong as hell. In the end that strength and youth won the day. Winning at heavyweight can be a lot simpler equation.