Would Joshua go undefeated during Klitschko’s reign?

Joshua only really rocked Ruiz when he caught him with a punch he didn't see coming. I think Wlad would have realised pretty quickly that telegraphed punches weren't going to get Ruiz out of there and adjusted to a more conservative approach. AJ tried to bulldoze Ruiz out of there in short order and left himself wide open in the process.

AJ will need to learn to adjust on the fly and accept not every opponent will fold under duress. You'd have to think such shortcomings would have been exposed at some stage in the Wlad run.

 

This reply rates somewhere between are you kidding me and WTF.

Joshua won't come close to the amount of title defenses Wlad has, and if he fights to age 41 is getting stopped quite a few more times. Wlad had 69 fights. Joshua has just 23.

 

And if Joshua is knocked out again by Ruiz it could well end at 24 fights.

 

There are some guys there that would probably beat Joshua ...... but David Haye's not one of them.
.... let's not forget Haye was absolute crap and his resume and status as a "world title holder" were far lesser than Joshua's.
Joshua may well have been overrated and hyped by his predominantly UK fanbase, but Haye was a complete embrassment to the UK.
Joshua is 100% legit in comparison.

Prime Povetkin, Sam Peter, Ruslan Chagaev and Sultan Ibragimov could well be major threats to Joshua though.

 

No, I don't think so. Prime Pov dogs him IMO. Given that AJ has shown vulnerability elsewhere, it's conceivable that any of the other better fighters Wlad beat could sleep him too

 

And how effective would Ruiz Jr. be against prime Wlad?

 

Old grandpa Povetkin almost knocked him out in the first round, prime Povetkin would have finished the job.

 

I think he would have done great he has faster hands than anyone Wlad fought and could have taken his power, he also has power.

 

He just shook him AJ recovered quck and wa more powerful than Povetkin.

 

Unless Ruiz goes on to beat Fury or Wilder because that would put a different perspective on AJ`s loss to Ruiz.

 

Most of those 69 fighters weren`t as good as a 41 year old Wlad or a 37 year old Povetkin, Wlad`s opposition was pretty tame really.

 

Haye, Sanders and a younger Povetkin pose a threat imo.

 

Yes he shook him to his core to the point his knees almost buckled underneath him.

A prime Povetkin would have pounced and cleaned him up completely giving no chance of retreat and recovery

 

Put it this way Joshua would be a journeymen during Wlad's era, an opponent for the big dogs to showcase, refine and hone in their skills against.

 

Wlad would have jabbed him, grabbed him, leaned on him. Ruiz Jr would have gotten absolutely destroyed vs. prime Wlad.