I'm not making excuses for Joshua though ? You on the other hand are excusing all of Fury's struggles simplifying it by saying "he fights down to the level of opposition" The reason that excuse doesn't work. 1. Fury hasn't fought that many top contenders. 2. His resume is not that vast that you can say he fights down to the level of his opposition. 3. When Fury hasn't fought that many top contenders yet he's still struggling frequently there must be more to it than excusing all of Fury's below par performances. Fury is of a similar level to Joshua. Fury has beaten 3 ranked fighters. Joshua has beaten 4 ranked fighters. Legacy wise there's not that much between them.
Re: Joshua -Paul fight. I don't care how good a fighter is in cutting off the ring. It's hard to cut off the ring against someone with a modicum of skill and strength who refuses to engage and hugs you at the waist, not a clinch, whenever you get close.
I disagree that Joshua’s career has been a disappointment; actually, I think he’s done well, possibly even overachieved, considering his limitations as a fighter. They obviously miscalculated with Andy Ruiz and the gravy train somewhat derailed after that, but I don’t think Joshua could have achieved much more than unifying 3 major belts, and doing big stadium fights against Klitschko, Povetkin and Parker. AJ never would’ve beaten Usyk in 1000 lifetimes so I don’t hold that against him.
I'm a boxing fan. Couldn't give two shites about how much money they've made. That said, AJ had a good career right up until Ruiz imo. Went downhill from there and is practically dead after stooping to fight Jake Paul.
That's fine. You think a fighter losing somehow beats every other HW in the world because he looked great in losing. A fine theory except that: He didn't even try to sell out to win He lost wide He looked like he ran out of ideas in there (and threw a hammer fist LOL) He cried after losing (you should be so ****ing tired you don't have the energy for that post fight speech) None of that indicates he is some mythical h2h matchup for other fighters. You're clearly mistaken about this. No fighter has EVER lost wide and been seen as some mythical h2h beast.
Offer Anthony Joshua’s career to 99% of any pro boxer in history, achievements and financially, they take it without hesitation. The man revived British Boxing when we were practically dead on our feet, we had no stars nothing. He brought big time boxing back to Britain. When a AJ stadium show was in town during that period it was huge, the prospects who got to ride that wave too was big for their careers to be able to fight on such a stage. Wherever you rate him in the era, however you rate the standard of the era, AJs place is cemented. The guy just loves to fight, you are a real hater if you think this man dodged anybody. Whether you think he would have lost or won, it doesn’t matter, any neutral with no bias could see him and his team were up for anything. I rate his career; 7/10 Performances 9/10 Spectacle Value 9/10 Influence on the sport 8/10 Boxing Accolades 10/10 Financials From Boxing Legacy - 8.5/10
Had an amazing career arc for the first third with gold medal, smashing anybody put in front of him, became unified champion with an epic get off the canvas battle with an old ATG to fully legitimise his credentials. Was relatively smooth sailing and on the trajectory toward a show down for king of the division with Wilder since Fury had vacated the premises after scattering the belts during his rise. Claimed a few good scalps along with crushing several medicore ones (as most champs do) until he encountered the short tubby t rex who happened to also be blindingly fast and tough as hell and traumatised him in new york. He never stopped trying but he just got mauled and never recovered from getting an *** whooping right back instead of finishing Ruiz off (“Anthony Joshua is a composed and ferocious finisher, watch this!”). I don’t consider the rematch a very impressive performance, andy came in like a whale and just plodded around with almost half the energy of that first fight, AJ did what he needed and adjusted but a third fight would have told us the real story. Tbf you can say McCall had no business in the ring with Lewis in their rematch or Duran wasn’t in shape for the second fight so it’s nothing new and they get credit so maybe harsh on Joshua. Sometimes I think AJ over complicates everything and wanted to become a boxing sage after the Ruiz debacle but he just didn’t have the natural fluidity to truly transition to that. Then again he fought Usyk one fight after regaining his belts, it didn’t matter what style he tried to implement against Usyk he would have an answer for everything. He gave Usyk a decent enough first fight and a great second fight, no shame in those performances. Just came up against a phenomenal fighter. Dubois was all about getting through the first few rounds and weathering the storm and grinding down his confidence, he fought real dumb in that fight, I still think he should beat him 7/10 times. AJ seeks reassurance and comfort in the trainers instructions and usually will follow them rigidly, them telling him to roll the dice when he’s still in the fight against an opponent with questionable mental resilience and trying to lead with a stupid uppercut coming from the basement was beyond ridiculous. That loss is massive for his legacy, although with Usyk potentially giving the belts up he has a chance for a third title before retiring. It’s a shame we never got to see him and Wilder for the undisputed (still reckon Wilder would have knocked him out but that fight needed to happen for both their legacies) we got three classics with Fury instead and should get to see the dust settle between him and Fury for the second best of the era (unless Wilder windmills Usyk or performs well and throws his name back in the hat). If he can pick up a belt again and beat Fury he will have had an amazing career, if he retires as is, he’s had a very good although disappointing back end of his career. Financially he has done incredibly of course and he’s not done it by playing a fool like the clown Paul whose jaw he shattered so there’s some bonus points.
Listen, I'm going to be completely honest, and I hate to admit something like this, but, well,...I could've done much, much better.
Wtf? I never made this argument. I have only been talking about Joshua, his abilities, and comparing him to himself. You are literally making things up here, buddy.
I agree and am not making excuses for Fury fighting down to the level of his competition. Joshua has more depth Fury has more quality
I want to be clear Joshua is a massive success in life Just based on the enormous expectations for his career he is a disappointment I thought he'd be Lennox Lewis and Wladimir Klitschko level It didn't happen
You may be stretching the meaning of "more" to breaking point in support of Fury, there tbh Fury has the better #1 win Not seeing #2 Wilder and #3 Whyte as better than #2 Parker and #3 Povetkin tbh
In terms of record they’re both very similar level imo. Joshua-Wilder would have been nice, Fury-Ruiz too. Fury best ancient Wlad much more easily, AJ got the KO and beat Ngannou easily. The rest is pretty much a wash. In terms of their legacy and status as bringing boxing back to Britain, very little about either of them resonates with the vast majority of British fans like Hatton did for example.
Can you please tell me some names/wins of Wlad that puts him so far ahead of AJ? All those title defences fair enough, but his era sucked badly!! AJ is same talent level as Wlad and had similiar career minus being in Usyk's era. At least AJ didn't lose to Ross Purity.