1. Winless since December 2020 2. 25-75 underdog, only the 2nd time in his career that he’s been disfavoured (0-1 record) 3. Back to back defeats to ex-cruiser Usyk 4. 3 defeats in his last 5 fights, 1 by KO to Andy Ruiz 5. 1 KO win in his last 5 fights and 4 years, against 39 year old inactive Pulev in the 9th round 6. Pressured to take the Fury fight 7. Uncertainty with and lack of confidence from his team 8. 104 days to recover 9. 89 days to prepare after the callout 10. B-side Ruiz was 5'11, 270 lbs 11. B-side Usyk was 6’3, 220 lbs 12. A-side Fury is 6’8, 270 lbs, a master troll and a much bigger puncher 13. Fears that a devastating loss to Fury will end his career at the top level and follow him forever
AJ is going to fight and flight mode out of the gates with Fury and try to intimidate him at the pressers, probably talk about how he's going to make it a fight. It's Fury's wet dream for people to try and intimidate him.
And he will still be earning huge money. He's done once Fury beats him. Because the new crop will be coming through by then.
All those number means nothings. Joshua's losses don't really feel like he got beat up i.e: (Morrison vs Mercer). He was TKO against Ruiz after a punch that f-ed his equilibrium in the 3rd rouand, but he was protesting the stoppage, came back and took the belt. Usyk was just a better boxer but I don't think it messed with his confidence too much/ If he behaves like a great fighter I think he will still get big fights after a loss, just like Wilder. Wasn't big on Wilder as I thought he only fought cans but after the 3rd fight I became a believer Rooting for AJ
He protested the stoppage after having a calm walk to his corner and took a break waiting for a cup of tea. Spitting the mouthguard is forbidden, but he also did that.
AJ got dropped 4 times and quit in 7 against Ruiz, he definitely got beat up and it was without question in my mind the most humiliating defeat in boxing history. Against Usyk he was outboxed over 12 rounds twice and hurt at times by a man he had 3 inches of height, 4 inches of reach and 20-25 lbs of mass over. He beat Ruiz in the rematch by running away for 12 rounds in a big ring against a light punching 5'11, 284 lbs blob who hadn't trained. Even AJ's new trainer Garcia said that AJ's lost confidence and needs 3 tune ups before Fury. In fact, AJ initially lost confidence after a life and death win (Wlad) let alone a loss, let alone 3 losses.
Indeed, AJ quit with plausible deniability. He was hoping for it to be waved off and was giving all the signals but didn't want to literally say "no mas".
Most of your post is meaningless. I do however agree on his compromised mental state which is impossible to deny. I think a few confidence builder fights have been needed since AJ's fight with Pudding. that's never happened Fury should win but it's not a given... styles make fights.
I see the bout as a free throw for AJ, if he loses then can say i took bout too quickly after the Usyk fight which it could be argued he has. If he loses and decides to retire he will have earned a good purse and exited stage left in high profile world title bout, the opportunity to challenge for a world title otherwise were several fights down the road. If however 240 pounds of AJ was to let his fists go and manage to connect hard enough on Furys mandible, well that result would write its own headlines.
Not necessarily. When Holyfield was AJ's age or thereabouts, he lost two out of three fights in a twenty month period, getting stopped in one of them. He came back after one fight and beat Tyson twice, and still had a lot of career left.
Fact is, if Joshua can knock down Fury before losing, like Wilder did, he will have a dialog to continue. He has a right hand that can do that. He can't out box Fury. But if Fury knocks him out cold. Forget about it.
A couple of points: Losing 2 of your last 3 and 3 of your last 6 is not as bad as losing 3 of your last 3 and 4 of your last 6, especially considering the humiliating nature of AJ's losses. It's an open question whether AJ can take losses as well as Holyfield or Chisora. Evidence so far suggests that he can't. You are right that a devastating loss to Fury isn't necessarily the end at the top level for AJ but I suspect that AJ will fear/believe that it is.
