Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou •

Depends if you ask AJ fans or Fury fans. Overrated by the latter. Probably rated about right by the former.

It is hard to get a gauge on a fighter off one performance though, and against a man known for being extremely uneven over the years. If all we saw of Wallin or Cunningham was what we saw from their Fury performances you'd be forgiven for thinking they were some sort of killers.

 

Whatever you have to tell yourself to sleep at night.

 

Ngannou is being overlooked again, he showed he’s a big dangerous guy in the Fury fight (as terrible and shocking a performance as that was from Fury).

 

I sleep just fine with my 300 pound lifesize rubber latex Fury replica doll thank you!

 

Anyone picking Ngannou to win can't call themselves a boxing fan.

I don't mean that in an arrogant or fanboyish sense. I mean that rationally if you pick an untested athlete from another combat sport to win against one of the best, most tested fighters in the division then you have no faith in the sport or its efficacy under its own ruleset. Which then leads on to the question of why you're even watching the sport to begin with, or commenting on any of its competitors and matchups.

I don't rule out that Ngannou can win, but I'm not going to pick him over Joshua because I believe a man of Joshua's calibre and pedigree should triumph over any level of power and brute toughness. If I pick Ngannou, it's like saying boxing as an art is useless, and so long as you're roided to the gills and a great athlete with an iron jaw that's all it takes to beat the best in the sport. Whatever the truth of that statement, I like to think I have a bit more faith in the sport than that.

 

As a boxer a little overrated. He was always a good striker in the UFC so he's educated with his hands, but that version of Fury wasn't totally prepared and that's why Ngannou looked better than alot of people thought he would. He'll have some moments against AJ, but I see Ngannou getting stopped within 8 rounds.

 

That piece of meat can't even move his head, let alone boxing decently.

It is digusting that he's making tons of money stealing the oportunities that belong to real boxers who deserve them way more that him.

 

I am going with Anthony Joshua in this fight. We will see what happens.

 

AJ is hardly a boxing savant.

 

I'd say was both underrated by boxing purists and that Fury and his coach didn't take him seriously because they probably read this forum too much.

Anyone who followed UFC and saw his fights against Miocic (good boxer) should have known that he had chin and power and was almost a pure striker in MMA, not wrestling based. So there was a good chance he'd do okay in HW boxing, which doesn't rely on skill as much as lower divisions and especially when you consider characters like Lucas Browne, and what they could do with size and power and little boxing experience outside of MMA.

Fury and his trainer were idiots not doing their research and thinking they'd just blow him away. I always thought it was a risky and stupid circus fight based on the power and chin of this character and the fact he'd have even more roids in him outside the UFC, add to that Fury's lack of stopping power. Fury's core skills and experience got him through, but he was lucky to avoid a loss.

The advantage AJ has over Fury, besides the heads up, is that his power gives him a better chance of getting a KO. It wouldn't surprise me to see him KO the mma fighter just because he can likely land more accurately. But whoever lands the first bomb can win.

 

What was Ngannous main weapon in his MMA fights?

It doesnt mean boxing as an art is useless. It means combat sports have tiny talent pools and there are multiple other sports outside of boxing that heavily utilize boxing, so boxing the sport doesnt have a monopoly on boxing the art/skill.

Also AJ is basically a good athlete who came to boxing as an adult himself.

 

Indeed... And talk of GOAT is laughable Fury's had one legit elite win (at best) and that was years ago using a style he's physically incapable of replicating.

I don't see why they wouldn't just admit the obvious reality that Fury was unfit and nowhere near his best? Perhaps because that would degrade his trilogy with Wilder, given that same description fits him for two of those fights and he was unlucky not to have won all 3??

 

Maybe.

I think people underestimate just how significant it is to be that out of condition...

At the level these guys are fighting at (the very sharp end of the bell curve), we're talking quite fine margins - giving away a whole load of condition and still winning says a lot more about the (lack of) quality of the opponent than most seem to be giving it credit for, IMHO!

 

FFS he's leagues more proven and well-schooled than Ngannou is, being an actual professional boxer and former world champ. This isn't some protected scrub like Wilder we're talking about. If Ngannou chinned him I wouldn't bat an eyelid. Joshua has world class skills and uses them when he fights; he's only ever been beaten or seriously troubled by other world class boxers. If Ngannou beats him with minimal experience and just brute strength and toughness then boxing as a sport and an art form loses all credibility, and as a boxing fan I wouldn't want to even entertain let alone wish for that possibility.

 

It does surprise me (and maybe it shouldn't?!) how quickly greatness has been bestowed on Fury, in some quarters. I admit I'm pretty down on him as a result of, in my view, not acting like a champion in recent years. But this only started, for me, after he squandered the momentum of Wilder 2.
But I do try to be balanced.
To be an ATG you are being compared to... other ATGs. Heavyweight Valhalla is the likes of Ali, Lewis, Holmes etc. And that standard is measurable by title defences, quality of opposition, length of reign, overcoming a range of styles etc And it's clear here that Fury is severely lacking.
It's not that Fury is no good, or rubbish. I think there have been times when he's shown flashes of really impressive stuff. But it's been all too infrequent. And he's been happy recently to cruise rather than put an emphatic statement across the division (again, the ATGs did, beating main rivals and pretenders to the throne). So we should be honest about his positives and negatives - and hold him to account where necessary.