Not really. Hide was very very quick and I believe more than capable of outboxing Joshua, and if he landed flush he could and possibly would stop him ... Herbie was very good and underrated, when Bowe was asked who hit him the hardest in his career, it didn't come as a shock to me when he said Herbie Hide... He even said Herbie was one punch away from finishing me because he got me...
Hide was underrated as a fighter imo. He had great hands. I do think he got outweighed as a heavyweight in general...he looked like a teenager vs. a grownup size-wise against Bowe. Still, he did whap him pretty damn good in that fight, but the deck was stacked against him.
I'm an AJ fan but, I see a prime Bowe doing AJ in similar fashion to how Witherspoon beat Bruno. Joshua would have some successful moments early doors simply due to him being such a powerful specimen and Bowe just getting his timing down and letting Joshua empty the tank. By rounds 8-10, I see Bowe starting to back Joshua up and take over before backing him into a corner and pummelling him to a TKO finish. Bowe H2H at his absolute best would have given any heavyweight in history an extremely hard nights work as he was very good at everything, good jab, very good power, good combination puncher, decent footwork for his size, decent defence and an iron chin. I actually think that Joshua was far from 100% in the first Ruiz fight and the beat down he took and subsequent stoppage has unfairly tainted his perceived heart and durability. He was up and down like a yo yo and someone with zero heart stays down the first chance they get. He will very likely get beat again before ending his career but, I doubt we will ever see a repeat of the Ruiz 1 debacle. He'll likely get out boxed by the like of Fury or Usyk and Wilder could very likely KO him (although Wilder is a KO waiting to happen in my humble opinion as his level of opposition so far has been gash) and I see that fight as a 50/50.
Interesting points here. I probably have been unfair to AJ. It's just...after seeing Ali get smacked all over the ring by guys like Frazier and Norton and still keep coming, Holmes taking a shot that would have coma'd a buffalo by Shavers and getting up and back in control in less than a round...
Oh don't get me wrong, I agree that Joshua's mandibular durability is less than stellar but, after Ruiz 1 people were calling Joshua a heartless coward which was taking things too far in my opinion. Getting straight back in with a guy who was bouncing you on and off the canvas all night, takes a fair degree of testicular fortitude and then there's the additional,pressure just from the simple fact that another loss would have potentially cost him, his team and associates 100's of millions, if not billions of pounds. This year is a huge one in Joshua's career. If he takes care of business with Pulev, Usyk and sets up a fight with the winner of Wilder/ Fury, he's truly back on track and can again be spoken of in more flattering terms as of late.
The Bowe who fought Holyfield at his best would stop Joshua because Joshua really can't take that type of punishment .. I give him all the credit for bouncing back against Ruiz but he fought a Wlad Klitschko type fight ..
I don't think the first Ruiz fight says much about AJ's heart as it does his punch resistance. We can't confuse the map for the place.
Career ending beat down for the Bodybuilder..... Some responses claim Bowe would get to AJ in the latter part of the fight............keep dreaming, he was out on his feet in the middle of the fight against Grandpa WK who was afraid to get his glass shattered if he followed up...... Bowe fought three minutes a round.....never quit and spit his mouth piece out when the going got rough even when totally washed up and shot against Golata.. This fight will be over quick, max four rounds......Bowe will jump on him, force a firefight mid range /inside.....the body punching alone would make AJ crumble, the same body punches Holyfield almost got folded over......it will be a combo of complete oxygen arrest and a china chin what will do Aj in. They can fight ten out of ten, prime vs prime and Bowe would do a number on him every single time.
I could never forget that uppercut Bowe landed on Holy in the 10th round of their first fight...certainly right up there with the Shavers uppercut that ruined Norton in terms of devastation. Ken was no slouch in the heart department, but it still astonishes me that Holy was able to not just come back...but back Bowe up after that. I just don't quite see AJ of that Holy a caliber. But as intimated above, time might make me a total fool. AJ isn't exactly an old boxer yet...