Ali probably the greatest heavyweight of all time.I would not compare Joshua to him.Ali was a real fighter.
The AJ of Ruiz I get's destoryed mid rounds but the one from the Parker and Ruiz II wins a competitive UD.
A.Joshua would get destroyed by Mercer at any time of his career if Mercer was in shape and prime or close too it... His response to adversity in the 1st Ruiz fight says quite a bit about who he is inside.... And he would have a helluva lot more adversity against Mercer than he faced against Ruiz.
Joshua showed another element to his game, although he boxed Joseph Parker pretty good as well, Mercer had a strong chin and could hit but could be outboxed - even soft chinned green Tommy Morrison was doing it and Jesse Ferguson and an old Holmes so Joshua could do it IMO - Lets assume Joshua just fought the wrong fight against Ruiz (let Ruiz use his will and threw punches in bunches from the Ruiz punching range - Joshua fought a Vlad K fight careful and cautious but got the win easily- Mercer was about Ruiz size 5'11 to 6'1 and a careful Joshua could do it if Jesse Ferguson could
Mercer had a much better jab than Ruiz and about the same power but never was 300 pounds of blob.....and generally brought the fight to the other fighter when he was in shape......AJ had a non fighter in front of him......Lewis or Holyfiled Mercer stops Aj in the latter rounds, he will close the distance and we all know that AJ cannot take the heat when the going gets tough........Mercer had Lewis who is leaps and bounds above AJ pulling out all stops to get the nod.....Mercer by KO.
I never thought Ray was that good. Decent power but he could be outboxed. Didn't Larry Holmes beat Mercer when he was 50 and sort of taunt him?
He was not 50 you idiot.....the same Holmes also gave Holyfield a run for his money and ran Oliver Mccall razor close......loosing or having a tough night with Holmes speaks for his abilities. But one thing, even when Larry was 50 he never spit his mouth piece out and quit.
Some on this site seemed to or conveniently forget that he practically quit against Ruiz in the 1st fight.
Mercer is too much a natural man for Joshua, who played the Beta to a morbidly obese slob who had a fighter's heart.
Didn't Mercer try to bribe a washed up journeyman mid-fight? Way to handle adversity. "I'll definitely give it to you tomorrow" - Ray Mercer (open to interpretation)
Mercer by split decision. Although Joshua looked good making adjustments against Ruiz, his work rate and stamina are still suspect. Ruiz was simply too fat and not motivated enough to apply steady pressure and couldn't get past a very basic but effective jab. Honestly Joshua's lateral movement was not particularly difficult to track. Mercer would find his spots and cut off the ring multiple times. Joshua also showed a lack of maturity when he sloppily tried to tie up and got blasted by short hooks on the inside. It would be a long drawn out battle with both men lumped up. Mercer drops AJ at some point late with a barrage and that gives him a slight edge on the scorecards. His superb jab and damaging combinations earn him enough points to get the nod.
That was me being facetious you imbecile. And if I think back Larry fought Holyfield in June of 1992, so that Mercer fight was probably near January of 1992 but I am not sure of the exact date, but I think it was before the Holmes fight which got him the fight with Evander, but around there. And Larry was born in 1949 perhaps? So he was 42 or 43. So he was an older fighter who outclassed Ray Mercer who was young and up and coming. And Ray was outclassed. I saw the fight. I don't think Larry beats Joshua of today from his 1992 form. And he lost to Evander and Oliver -you can say it was close but those two guys controlled the action. I don't remember the McCall fight being razor close in the ring at all. I saw the fight and McCall controlled the action, and so did Evander except for being hit with some right hands. Go back 8 months before the Holmes fight for Evander and Cooper almost had Evander knocked out.
Was Mercer a "World Champ" at the time of the Ferguson fight? Did Mercer EVER give the appearance of quitting in a boxing ring? Was Mercer ever given the publicity Joshua has received? Mercer walked through the fire power of Morrison, Holyfield, and Lewis... How many fighters of that caliber has Joshua fought? Outside of maybe Morrison ( A very big MAYBE) does Ruiz beat any of those 3 fighters in their primes as he did with a prime Joshua? The answer are No,no, no, none, and no....
