Where would a victory over 2026/2027 AJ rank on Fury's win record?

Joshua seems further past it than Fury yes but he can still punch very hard, and he could have wilted after that 1st round but didn't. The motivation will also be at maximum vs Fury. AJ is more dangerous than say Chisora, even if a prime Chisora would beat this AJ.

 

This is your opinion, not mine. I believe the greatest heavyweight fight in British history was Lewis-Bruno for the WBC world title (while Fury vs. Joshua won't have a world title on the line), and that Fury-Joshua isn't even one of the most important fights in heavyweight history (there's a long list of more important fights than this one). This is a fight that's years overdue, and features one fighter in steep decline and another who's finished (AJ), so this win won't add anything to Fury's legacy. Now that I've explained my point, I'm fine with you disagreeing.

 

"this win won't add anything to Fury's legacy"

Ok but no one really agrees with you. When people look back on the era, Fury-AJ is the legacy win people would talk about most, along with Wlad and Wilder x3. This is just the reality.

 

First of all the reality is that Fury won against Wilder twice, not three times, because the first match between them ended in a draw. Then I'll tell you something else, which may be new to you but is also true, a victory over a top fighter is an important victory if that fighter is a competitive fighter (even better if he's in his prime), not if that fighter is a finished fighter and has already proven himself to be a finished fighter. An example? Here's an easy one, Roberto Duran and Macho Camacho both defeated Leonard, but Duran defeated him in 1980, when Leonard was 24 and the undefeated welterweight champion of the world, while Camacho defeated Sugar Ray in 1997, when Leonard was 41, hadn't fought in six years, and had lost by a wide margin in his last fight against Terry Norris. In your opinion, do Duran and Camacho's victories over Leonard have the same importance for the legacy of the two boxers?

 

If one fighter is well past it and the other not, it diminishes the fight/victory. If both are similarly past it, not so much if it all. Ali-Frazier 3, Leonard-Hearns 2, Holyfield-Tyson arguably.

AJ is well past it but Fury is 14 months older, soon 38 and his best performance was probably in 2015, prior to 30 stone etc. AJ is still a big puncher, power is the last physical attribute to go and he will give it his all. There is always danger in a matchup like this.

 

There's nothing wrong with being casual fan (I always say the more people follow boxing the better is). If you're smart and know how to listen to those who have been following the boxe their whole life, you can better understand certain concepts.

An extra 14 months in boxing aren't important (each fighter's prime and decline are always individual, Jeff Fenech was finished at 30, Hopkins was in his prime at 40). What matters is the fighter, his form, and his history. Joshua has been go down six times in his last three fights (we could say two, because the fight he lost was against Jake Paul...). He's a fighter who can't take the punches anymore and clearly struggles whenever he's pressed. His loss to Dubois was devastating, one of those career-ending defeats, very different from Fury's two defeats to Usyk. Fury, who in his first match against Usyk was ahead on the judges' scorecards and in control of the fight at the start of eighth round, and who showed up to the ring in good physical shape, unlike a few months earlier against Ngannou (where he weighed 15 pounds more). This is Fury's story, if he underestimates a match he can show up in obscene physical shape and put in a poor performance, but if he prepares well he shows up to the ring in good shape and puts in strong performances (Klitschko, Wilder 2 and Usyk 1). But Fury has certainly shown he can handle a punch, something Joshua has shown he can no longer do, six times been ho down in his last three fights is a very important sign. The Joshua of today would be knocked out against the best in the category, and I don't know how he'll be able to beat Fury, who is certainly in a declining phase but is not a finished boxer like Joshua.

 

This fight should of happened almost a decade ago. It's not a big fight. It's about the names. And they're both has beens.

 

3rd behind Wlad and Wilder II

 

I think it would be the biggest win for either.

 

Brook would have done the same in their primes.


Didn’t take a lot to make Khan do the Bambi dance lol

 

If we examine Fury's form, he went life and death with Ngannou in 2023 (who Joshua then KO'd in 2), lost two fights to Usyk in 2024, was inactive until 2026, and has had two fights since then, one against a top 30 opponent who he decisioned. Fury has not scored a KD in his last six fights (Chisora 3, Ngannou, Usyk x2, Makhmudov, Wach) and will be 38. He has abused his body more at this stage of his career than the overwhelming majority of professional fighters. He has always been more dependent on speed + cardio than power stylistically, and his outboxing ability is a shadow of what it was in his 2015 prime. How Fury will perform against a top 10-20 operator is an open question, he's certainly more vulnerable than he has been since he was a very green pro.

I agree with your assessment of Joshua, his ability to take a punch has declined significantly. But he still gives a very good punch, and can get off the deck multiple times to deliver it. This is why the odds won't be all that wide in this fight.

 

I've certainly written that Fury is in a sharp decline, and I too would now see him as the underdog against Kabayel, Dubois and Itauma. But when I see a fighter who can't take the punches like Joshua I think the best thing he can do is retire. From this I say that even a Fury in a sharp decline is too much for a fighter who shows such great fragility, first and foremost in character. Then, as always, the ring will have the final say, in a few months, we'll see what happens. In the meantime let's enjoy Zepeda-Roach tonight, cheers.

 

What makes you think Joshua is still top 10?

 

I said top 10-20. His chin is gone but he is still a force offensively.