Deontay Leshun Wilder vs. Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua

I used to fancy AJ to do a job but now I can't see past Wilder knocking him spark out.

Wouldn't surprise me if these two have a trilogy of fights, age out Fury and Usyk and ending up fighting for a title.

 

This is like a retirement fight for Joshua. I'm getting Macho Man vs Ultimate Warrior vibes. Joshua would need to come down to 17 stone to have a chance. He's just too slow for Deontay, he would have got stopped on the Helenius performance.

 

Wilder needs a quick fight and time is running out for that option.

Even with the ring rust we know ole windmill will come out throwing the wildest and some of the most telegraphed shots in the sport.

AJ has 10 times the boxing talent of Wilder but if you are so mentally unsure and hesitant to use them then that set of skills no longer exist.

If AJ even boxed like he did with Usyk he could beat Wilder but even that AJ is dead and gone for now.

I can’t see anything but a SLOOPY explosion, borderline 1980s porn style mess, and in the end Wilder standing over AJ yelling—BOMB SQUAD

 

Wow DeadZone has done a fantastic job in marketing the AJ brand.

Wilder smashes AJ if they were to ever meet. The Old Right hand lands at some point and AJ doesn’t have the recovery skills to comeback from it.

 

That was a miserable group of boxers. Horrible fight card. Even the round card girls were ugly.
Not one of those boxers showed me anything more than D level ability. Hrgovic, " the most feared man kn the HW division " sucked vs a bartender.

 

Wilder hasn't been very active and he is aging but I see this as a 66/33 Wilder KO. AJ has shown he doesn't have the greatest beard and Wilder is going to keep throwing bombs. It would seem one will land before AJ can catch him. Either way, this is the fight that needs to happen. It is time. Almost getting to the past expiration date. Cash in now, guys.

 

Joshua must know that he is yesterdays man, his ring performance is much poorer and his antics post fight are bizarre to say the least.

Wilder has his limitations, but i cannot see the Joshua of recent fights beating Wilder.

Joshua either must be deluded about his present abilities, or he is 100% solely going into the Wilder fight for the money.

Joshua is going to paid handsomely to have his consciousness removed by Wilder.

 

I've always believed Wilder stops Joshua.

Wilder was and is mentally tougher than Joshua, and I've always suspected he's much more willing to risk his physical well being to get the job done.

 

Wilder has the weaker chin?

Dubious

 

Really hard to tell this one. AJ looked far too tentative in the early rds last night, but that doesn't mean Wilder would stop him in those rounds.

Once he got his jab going it looked good and it set up the KO. That kind of jab would trouble Wilder as well and could set up a KO of him if he hasn't found a home for his right by that time.

The question is also how much confidence this will give Joshua and lead to an improved performance against Wilder. Or will the bigger threat of Wilder's punch make him even more hesitant.

Still up in the air for me. All I know is that Joshua has the tools, but has he the mental strength to use them well enough? We'll see come fight night.

 

Absolutely no doubt about that one.

Joshua showed that kind of win or go broke mentality against Wlad, but haven't since. The question is if he still can summon that part of himself. I have no doubt that Wilder won't quit fighting until he's put down. Whatever else you can say about the man, there's no doubt that he's prepared to go all the way.

 

Fury showed the blueprint on how to beat Wilder; put him on his back foot, but don't be so complacent that you give him room and time to punch as he can and WILL put you down (Helenius, Ortiz, Fury himself, etc.)

The problem is the AJ who has shown up in the last few fights won't do that. He may come forward but he is too tentative, not eager to pull the trigger unless he sees the perfect opening. This to me will come across as "following Wilder around" which is ludicrously dangerous; it completely lacks the aggression that made Fury's strategy work in the first place.

But was that knockout what the doctor ordered? Will AJ reemerge as the aggressive beast from yesteryear? Because if he does he's going to body snatch Wilder; a less skilled but more powerful version of Fury's strategy.

And what happens if Wilder doesn't get the Ruiz, or at least SOME, kind of fight? As simplistic as he is even HE needs rounds to get his timing back.

This has all the makings of a tense fight as you watch, waiting for the explosion. If and when it does, after the euphoria you'll reflect on it and say, "Wow that was actually a really boring fight."

 

Lesser fighters have outboxed and taken several flush shots from Wilder before eventually falling over. Yet you have people here thinking Joshua is going to sleep at the first right hand despite having the more proven chin.

Even against Ruiz AJ lasted until round 7 on his worst night, notably still getting a knockdown early. This fight will go into the later rounds, and AJs more damaging combinations will result on Wilder being waved off.