Anthony Joshua's Power

The fact AJ has never fought Chisora just seems really odd.

 

Aren't they sort of mates, going way back?

I was under the impression that was why they'd never fought.. although in saying that, aren't Fury and Chisora supposed to be buddies too? But have, for some reason, fought as recently as 5 months ago (!)

 

Both from the same amateur gym and are good friends so was never realistic. Chisora was sitting next to Joshua's son at ringside yesterday.

Who was Joshua sparring in the build-up to this fight ? Peter Kadiru and that Albanian Cruiserweight don't seem like quality sparring to be honest.

 

That's interesting - I wonder what the logic was there? I find the rationale behind sparring partners really interesting.

Whether he was in serious training camp or not, Fury claimed he was getting Josh Taylor down to spar him to prepare for Usyk. I can see the logic, there's no point Fury picking opponents who are strong and physical - Usyk's strength is his movement and skill, makes sense to fight an elusive smaller fighter. I also thought Okolie was an inspired choice of sparring partner for Wilder in fairness to Fury.

 

Agreed, I really like Fury and think he's probably the best in the division - but all the Usyk stuff was hugely irritating. I really like both of them, and would've been fascinated to see them fight.

Really disappointing to see it fall through, especially as it was mainly down to money, challenge and ego. I believe those 3 factors are Fury's primary motivators for taking fights at this stage of his career.

I never subscribe to the fighters being "scared" of each other stuff - but I do think Fury was wary of Usyk. I also believe that may be why he was acting like such a moron in the build-up. He motivates himself to get "up" for the fight if he thinks he's the underdog or public enemy number 1. He's never seemed entirely comfortable being the golden boy so had to motivate himself by being a bit of a dick. It's backfired on him, because I believe he underestimated how well thought of Usyk is in the UK. People simply didn't buy into the whole shtick this time, it's not Wilder - Usyk always conducts himself with class. British sports fans love that sort of thing, a completely different demographic of fan - but look at how well thought of Federer is received in the UK. World class operator with humility and class - very similar to Usyk.

That's why he was so "up" for Klitschko - he had framed himself as the underdog and the villain. It's harder to do that vs Usyk who, relatively speaking, is much smaller than Tyson - it may not be viewed as that much of an achievement to beat him, especially for casual fans. Likewise Wilder 1 and 2 - he was the underdog in those fights. It was easy to motivate himself - then you see in the performances vs Wallin and Wilder 3 what happens if he gets complacent.

Fortunately for Fury, he's talented enough to see off the likes of Whyte and Chisora without breaking a sweat and getting himself motivated, but the same can't be said for Usyk, Wilder or even Joyce.

That's why I think he'd take the Joshua fight - he'd find it very easy to get up for Joshua. The "pride of Britain" thing, and their fates have always seemed intertwined given that they are so similar in age and both British. That's before considering the enormous amount of money it would generate, even now.

By the same token - (and referencing that "money", "challenge", "ego" thing at the start of my post) I don't think Fury would fight Joyce, (unless he was forced) due to 3 reasons 1) Money (Joyce doesn't have a huge money generating profile - similar to Usyk in that regard) 2) Challenge - Joyce would be a genuine challenge 3) Ego - (Joyce seems a fairly easy going guy, and given that his profile is so much smaller, there isn't the "Pride of Britain" bragging rights he'd get from beating Joshua.)

Apologies for the long post, but this is basically why I think Fury's next move will either be a Joshua fight or retirement.

 

Re the bold I’ve always felt the opposite. Given that power is all about rotation and the biomechanical movement of forces which relies on athleticism it just doesn’t stack up that someone could maintain punching power well past their peak years.

A classic example is Toe Haye. His punching power was all derived from kinetic explosiveness but when he got into the ring with Tony Bellend his power was visibly non existent due to the toll of age and the injuries which made him a shadow of his peak self.

I’ve always felt “power is the last to go” is just one of these mythical sayings used to hype a fight whenever an old fighter takes on a young prospect. Only stacks up if said fighter is climbing through the weight classes. Sure they’ll probably punch harder as they get heavier. For the vast majority of boxers I’m sure their power will naturally decline once they get past their mid-thirties.

 

Agreed. Joshua doesn't have an enormous frame (when compared to Fury or Joyce for example) and he's clearly a very explosive athlete. I've always felt he would decline at a far quicker rate than his contemporaries, due to being such a naturally explosive athlete. If Fury and Joyce are shot-put Olympians - Joshua is a sprinter. Who generally declines quicker?

Fury seems to have grown into his strength as he's got older, and Joyce is naturally a massive man with relative power.

Joshua, relatively speaking, isn't nearly as dense or "big" as those two. My belief is that everyone at the top end of HW boxing is juicing, not that it can be proven necessarily, but if Joshua wasn't - he would perhaps be only marginally heavier and more muscular than the likes of Okolie. It's just my opinion, and until proven I don't have any evidence to back it up - but I don't believe for a second Joshua is 100% natural - just the same as I don't believe Fury shed 10 stone without ANY help.

 

Yeah that’s the fight I want, Fury v AJ. Will be a good build up and while I expect Fury to win you never know and maybe for the same reasons as Fury, AJ will be up for it too!
I don’t think “they” let AJ take it though. A lose for him and he’s deffo done, and “they” need a few fight out of AJ

 

He wouldn't have got through the first round with AJ either pre Ruiz.

 

Peter Kadiru is a good prospect that SES Boxing (Germany) is trying to build at the moment. I have seen him spar many times in Germany and he looks good in the ring.

 

Joshua isn't as explosive as he once was. He's peaked.

 

Josh Taylor himself said that he first heard about it from his friend on social media, and highly doubts whether he could have helped in any way.

 

How strange

 

Tbh that's probably more of a reason to take the fight. I'm not saying he'd take a dive. But i'm sure Chisora would be more than happy for the pay day, put up a fight but once remotely hurt throw in the towel and look forward to spending the money.