I have great respect for his record. But, I suspect that Hearn's bet that he's past it is a solid one. If he comes to fight, I expect him to be gone before the bell rings to end the third. If, on the other hand, he pulls another vanishing act, I expect AJ to fight a very smart fight and get him out in the 11th or 12th or win a lacklustre and rather wide UD. We'll see soon enough if Hearn's and my calculations are rubbish.
Hearn probably doesn't care much. I mean, he can really afford to be wrong on this. If Wladimir beats AJ it's not such a bad result, since Wladimir will be hailed as a super-all-time-great. And, Wlad won't be around for much longer anyway, so AJ can still be sold as the "heir apparent". I mean, AJ would have been taking a step up if Hearn had given him Pulev, Parker, Ortiz in relatively "small money" fights. And if AJ failed a test against one of them right now, that would be a fairly devastating blow to the AJ brand image and professional reputation. Wladimir's a bigger financial reward and a loss that can be easily spun into something positive.
.... that's assuming Wladimir hasn't made a secret 'retirement package' arrangement with EH to lose this fight. i mean, I'm trying not to be quite that cynical.
I hope Joshua wins for the sake of the sport as much as anything. Klitschko winning would set the heavyweight division (and the sport) back and it's not something I would like to see. It's time for a new star and a new era. Joshua is that man. Having said that a loss wouldn't be the end of the world. It would just be "too soon" and all that. Joshua can come back, but the romance (not in a gay way) would have gone.
People are forgetting Wlad was awful in the fight before Fury, and against a pretty non powerful heavyweight was afraid to let his hands go. If Manny Steward was still here and Wlad was able to get back to the form of a few years ago, then he'd frustrate and "old man" AJ, in a horrible fight. Now he's getting beaten to the punch early here and wiped out, and fast Eddie knows it, hence why this fight is even happening. This is the end of Wladimir.
People aren't forgetting that, they're answering the question being asked by the OP. What IF? It's a hypothetical question not an opinion of how the fight will go.
Its principle aims would be the same but No, it would have to be a far better package. Eddie simply promised those guys a trip to Burger King or Subway.
I hope so mate. I feel that he's gonna have to grind out an ugly decision win in this fight but when it comes to that kind of fight, AJ has no pro experience.
If he loses and he is not blasted out of there looking like David Price, then I think a rematch is likely. I have done some thinking about this fight, and i am siding with the school of thought that says that Wlad is old, he is slow and shot, and AJs youth and speed will simply be the deciding factors in the fight. A late stoppgae or wide UD for AJ. The version of Wlad that brutally stopped Pulev, now that version would have bounced AJ around like a basketball and stopped him EARLY. The current version, inactive and old overnight, its AJs fight to lose.