IF AJ beat Rico...

He seemed incapable of cutting off the ring. Most commentators were saying that if it took AJ more than 2-4 rounds (depending on the person) that it would be embarrassing.

This is supposed to be a former heavyweight two-time world champion still relatively in his prime going up against a youtuber who's a weight class below him.

 

That's assuming it's 100% real. If AJ is carrying him then he wont be cutting off the ring with maximum efficiency. The only thing real about it was the inevitable result, imo. For one reason or another, boxers often do not go all out trying to KO an overmatched opponent from round 1.

 

I dont think AJ should get much credit for beating Rico, who is less of a KO threat than Ngannou. The threat Rico posed was contingent on the one off nature of the fight and catching Usyk by surprise, similar to Ngannou against Fury. In practice, Joshua would not be fighting the same Rico. It is likely the result would flatter him in relative terms. It would be a form of opportunism.

I'd like to see Verhoeven vs Ngannou, that's the one to make.

 

If AJ was "carrying" him you'd expect him to be a lot smoother with a bit of showboating. That's not what I saw.

Until proven otherwise, we should assume that the fight was real, because if it wasn't that makes it even more embarrassing for the sport.

 

AJ/Hearn may not want his opponents or rivals to know hes carrying him, and the Saudis would not want it to be obvious to the public.

I suspect Joshua was told "treat it as a spar, get some rounds in, let him give a decent account of himself, then finish him". If Joshua had jumped on Paul in round 1 spamming power punches, do you think the Tommy victim stands up to it?

It is risky to take much from a fight where the winner won with ease and was barely touched, in terms of the winner "struggling".

 

IIRC Jake landed a few solid punches of his own and had spells where he was outboxing AJ. It was an awful performance, and the whole carrying theory just reeks of cope to me.

I certainly don't see the same AJ beating Rico at this stage.

 

If we dismiss carrying theory as cope then we will be totally blind to it when it happens, resulting in an innacurate view of reality.

Rico had the element of surprise vs Usyk, as Ngannou did vs Fury. Rico also had less wear and winning momentum going in.

All of these advantages are gone now, and Joshua's punching power could enable him to destroy Rico, as it did Ngannou.

 

You're the one who asked "Desperation for what?" lmao.

I answered your question clearly btw I said NO, voted NO, explained my answer and I will explain it again because logic is going out you aren't retaining the information. joshua will get NO historical points for beating Rico because Rico has beaten NO ONE.

 

Who's to say that AJ would have tried to load up on him? Rico seems to have a decent chin and decent power of his own. Ngannou was one thing because he was relatively slow. Rico's constant feinting and arm punches probably would have had the same impact on AJ as it did Usyk. I just don't think if you switched AJ for Usyk that night AJ would get his arm raised and that is a massive blackmark on boxing.

 

Imagine in 2018 you'd have been told that Joshua would fight a YouTuber, an MMA fighter with 1 fight, and potentially a 1-1 kickboxer to "defend the honour of boxing" over the next 8 years - all without fighting Fury. I don't even disagree with the original question in this thread, but it shows what a mess the sport has found itself in because of these ridiculous crossover circuses.

 

AJ is basically Mr Wolf from Pulp Fiction at this point. Fury and Usyk are Vincent and Jules

 

He's a "Dead Crossover Boxers Storage's" landlord, lol.