Need to see more of Wardley to say for sure. It's not clear, yet, whether Wardley would beat that Joshua either - and it'd have to be a 50/50 at least to beat that Wlad. Wardleys output is good and his power is good - but he'd probably get tagged more than Joshua did, and it's not clear yet if he'd be able to take it.
Jesus Christ what are these Wardley threads? What did the guy even do? Is beating Parker really THIS impressive?
It's impressive in that Parker was well proven and on a good run. The problem is, he fought full ****** (just like he did against Joyce) and that devalues it a fair bit - but it's not necessarily clear exactly how much. It's crazy that Usyk's proving the old cliché that a great boxer beats a great puncher, dominating the division with skills, speed and footwork... And still guys are trying to blow up for power, even when it doesn't suit their strengths.
Meh his little run didn’t really impress me that much. Beating a 38 year old Deontay Wilder who got killed by Fury twice and a short-notice 310 lbs Bakole isn’t all that impressive. Zhang was a good win and full credit to him for that but Zhang would lose to a tree if it lasted past 3 rounds.
Wardley has probably got a better chin and certainly punch resistance than 2017 Wlad. But thats the only advantage I'd give to Wardley. 2017 Wlad too skilled and powerful in the end for me. Wardley even with his good chin wouldn't be able to take those punches all night as he would just get tagged and tagged with serious punches all fight whilst being beaten to the punch, and I just don't think Wardley is as good offensively compared with prime AJ. Wardley can bang but a lot of his punches are telegraphed and Wlad would just beat him to the punch, let alone with his jab that would be constantly bashing Wardley's face. It would be a fight where 'your best defence is your attack' and this would be the defining factor for me personally in why I'd back 2017 Wlad over Wardley.
I don't completely disagree... But with how thin the division is and was? It's better than anyone else's run bar Usyk's - if you apply a similar degree of scrutiny to his closest rivals (Kabayel, Dubois, etc) you'll find even more holes. Wilder was old, agreed - and it doesn't really matter whether you think Fury ruined him or whether you think he was always massively overhyped and not particularly special (and shouldn't have been too shopworn given overall an easy career with little punishment), a fringe contender max with great management... Still, he shut him out in a spot on display - more comprehensive than 2 of Fury's 3 wins. Either way it's a decent win rather than a great one - I'm with you there. Bakole was overhyped and on short notice, but it's still a decent enough gatekeeper win, but the asterisk is there. And Zhang... Well, yea, Zhang is literally 50/50 against anyone remotely good - and if you can see the final bell you'll win on cards even if you're terrible on cards because of stamina yourself (see Hrgovic)... Nonetheless, it was an impressive display of chin, heart and an ability to carry on and fight tidily despite being on max adrenaline thanks to taking some big punches. It's a decent run... He fought like an idiot against Wardley and got what he deserved for it.
