41 y/o Wlad wasn't better than 39 y/o Wlad it was just that Fury outboxed him and perplexed him with feints, fluidity and slipped almost all of Wlads shots. It was a nightmare style for Wlad. Aj was easier to tag and wasn't as experienced as Fury at that point which is Why Wlad looked amazing
Being knocked down doesn't always translate to underperforming. That's just one moment out of 12 rounds, and the shot hit him in the back of the head.
Come on. Of course Fury performed amazingly that night, but don't be ridiculous. Wlad was a FAR better version of himself vs AJ than he was vs Fury.
I can't believe what I'm reading. The extent that some of you will go to protect the GGG age excuse. As if it's impossible to be better than an earlier version of yourself at a more advanced age.
He got hit by Arreola’s right hand all night long. He was vulnerable and didn’t meet the expectations set for him. He was supposed to blow out Arreola like many competent fighters that did in the past.
I never said it was impossible, but the facts are that Wlad fought Fury and barely landed a glove, but then later on Wlad fought AJ and almost decimated him.
Styles make fights but I still don't know how you can deny that Wlad looked way better when he fought AJ. Of course some of that had to do with fighting AJ instead of Fury, but surely not ALL of that.
Yeah he had upped his game somewhat, I was and still am a Wlad fan, but any version of Wlad would've been shut out versus Fury. He couldn't get close to winning, whereas with Joshua he was basically one punch from victory.
Hmmmm. But look at Wilders resume then look at Joshua's. Wilder beat Luis Ortiz and nobody else. Joshua lost but beat Ruiz on a rematch. Im sure if Wilder fought Klitschko/Povetkin/Whyte/Parker/Pulev he'd loose at least one of those fights. Hell he might even loose against Chisora because Chisora would aggressively force Wilder on the back foot
I've said it before Ruiz is a fat plodder who is there to be hit. His hand speed and combos are good but any footwork and head movement he demonstrates in the gym he doesnt use often against actual opponents. AJ dropped Ruiz with the first combination landed and then landed a massive right hand, His chin literally won that fight for him. AJ in a way reasonably concluded that Ruiz was there for the taking, swung ihooks with no regard to what would come back. He then received a blow to the ear/temple that messed him up for the rest of the fight. I still believe it was more AJ losing that fight than Ruiz winning
I attribute blubber butts win over AJ to either 1) AJ throwing the fight ( to get a big money rematch/ betting against himself for mega bucks) , 2) having a nervous breakdown of some sort, or 3) not being able to be on steroids as the fight was in USA which affected his physicality or confidence and yes the division does suck but Fury vs AJ would be a blockbuster especially for UK fans. Would be great in a massive stadium there