Credit to both guys, both showed great skills and heart. I have to say Joshua is a big unknown to me. His stamina looks bad and I am not too sure about his chin. I know Wlad could punch so there is no shame in going down but he was also hurt in his previous fight against White I believe was the guys name. I could see other HW's that re fresher and less cautious finishing off Joshua if he gets hurt. I do not think he is a hype job or anything. He is very good still.
He certainly doesn't look unbeatable, and that's great for the division. Hopefully he'll be a top guy who makes the big fights happen at a reasonable clip. He might lose a couple of them, but he'll win most.
I think credit is due to Wlad for making him look that way to be fair. But if he was very beatable, Klitschko would have finished him off and done it.
Wilder is a wild card. He could just start windmilling and land a big shot. Fury....if he ever comes back maybe.
There is no one out there in the mix who could take advantage of his vulnerabilities. But history has proven that every top HW eventually gets KOd, even the likes of Lennox Lewis. Also, although Wilder is the other major champion... We all know Wilder avoids any AJ fight like the plague
He looked absolutely spent after the 5th round knockdown which was very worrying, needed 2 to 3 rounds to catch his breath and getting knocked down himself in the 6th doing so. Also wasn't it a career heaviest for Joshua? if it was that probably wasn't the wisest of moves. Credit to Vlad for making this a very difficult fight for him though.
The only fighter that has the chance to beat Joshua at this present time is Tyson Fury. Fury is 6'9, the reach of a gorilla and the hand speed of a middleweight. I believe Fury would do a number on Joshua similar to what he did to Klitschko. Although in saying that, when Joshua decided to turn it up and rush at Klitschko (rounds 5 and 11) he looked like a wrecking ball with no equal. Here's to hoping that fight gets made.
I think his stamina was fine. He wasn't exhausted in the 5th, he was just out on his feet from Wlad's punches. He showed he could recover like in the Whyte fight, though from a much darker place, and was still fresh enough late on to possess the kind of power to turn the fight around. But he definitely isn't unbeatable. He still has a lot to learn, he clearly didn't fight the right fight and I don't think he executed their game plan well. Wlad's experience took him out of his stride and he ended up fighting Wlad's fight for long periods. But he's a work in progress and he's only improving with each fight. He showed a damn could jab, showed he has a decent chin and the heart of a champion. But his movement was worse than I thought, not as bad as some think but I've always said that movement will give him issues and Wlad's movement was definitely something he struggled with tonight. I think if Fury can get fit again and reach the level of the Wlad fight again, he has Joshua's number, barring a lucky punch. But the longer he delays his return the more time it will give Joshua to improve and close the gap on him.
AJ was lucky to survive that, but in doing so he proved himself. he could come back when the chips were down, you cant buy that ingredient. I don't think many others could put him in that place, Fury wont hurt him like that. If Wlad was five years younger I think he would have found the punch to finish it but he couldn't land, a lot of his prime punches of the past went flat. I think he beats everyone now without Wlad around, Fury will probably come back fat and unmotivated.