Quick thoughts on the prospects of AJ facing Hrgovic, Zhang, or Ngannou in March. Cheers! This content is protected
Stylistically Zhang would be the biggest threat I'd say. Hrgovic is similar to Joshua but not as good. Vs Hrgovic I'd AJ to UD Vs Zhang I'd say Zhang gets KO'd late while gassed if he cannot knock AJ out early.
Should not be Ngannou, the guy should fight a Chisora or Whyte type guy next, he’s still highly unproven. Hrgovic and Zhang are much harder fights but I think Filip would be slightly easier stylistically speaking. I fancy that route for AJ, let Zhang fight Parker next then take on the winner.
I think AJ will stay well away from Zhang; as you said it's probably the best fight of the three mooted, but it's also the most dangerous. Hrgovic is good but he is also quite basic; I would back AJ to get the decision. If Ngannou agrees I think AJ will fight him next; it would be a lucrative tickover fight whilst angling for the possible big money fight with Fury.
Hrgovic or Ngannou. Cannot see Zhang, that’s high risk with limited reward at this stage + he hasn’t been in with a top-class puncher in a long time. Think we’ll get Bakole-Charr and Zhang-Parker on the card potentially.
I would prefer Hrgovic or Zhang, but honestly, he can fight who he wants. He isn't the champion. Hrgovic and Zhang are the level of competition Fury and Usyk should have been fighting in 2023. Not Ngannou and Dubois. Sadly, our champions are in name only...
From what i read currently, most likely going to be Ngannou, as Hearn is pushing for that fight. Don't know if AJ will want a gimmick fight though. The IBF won't strip the Undisputed though before March, and you can't wait till late February for your opponent. AJ and Hearn going to announce his opponent prolly this month, as there is not much time till March. If AJ not fighting in March, then his next opponent 100% will be Hrgovic. But so far he is in the March card in Saudi.
I gotta give kudo's to Joshua, fighting 3 times in one year for todays heavyweights is considered extremely active, and in my opinion it appears to have benefitted Joshua as against Wallin I thought he looked great. I hope he doesn't fight Ngannou as that is more side show than fight but fights against Zhang and Hrgovic are scraps I want to see. Currently I'd favor AJ over both , and probably by stoppage the way he's used his jab recently. Zhang has some skills but I think his head is on a line for a 1-2 from AJ that puts him on wobbly legs. I'm getting for hopeful for the heavyweight division in 2024
I also give props to AJ for fight three times in 2023, albeit vs C level competition. I imagine that he'd pick Hrgovic for a belt, Ngannou for a payday, and leave Big Bang out of the picture. Personally I don't think Ngannou deserves such a high profile bout but the money may be too much to ignore.
Him & Eddie will call out Tyson Fury like their lives depend on it after Usyk retires on Feb 17th. Fury won't say a word and let Hurgovic chin the big dosser before retiring himself.
Ngannou would 1. Be very lucrative. 2. should be a relatively easy fight. 3. and last but by no means least it would be another one up on his bitter rival Belly if he could stop Ngannou. That would be back to back stoppage wins over opponents who gave Belly a torrid time The world title would likely be on the line against Hrgovic but that fight would come with some risk. E-Hearn would swerve that fight like the plague if he didn't see Hrgovic vs Big Bang Zhang and McKean but I think he sees enough vulnerabilities in Hrgovic now to take that chance. Hrgovic needs to hook up with the right trainer and a better S&C coach to reach his potential and I don't see that happening. Maybe a loss might be what it takes to make that happen but judging from the way his been mismanaged and all the frustration he's been through the last three or so years I wouldn't be surprised if he walked away after loss either. His frustration is palpable. With the right training team he can beat AJ but I'd favour AJ at this point. Big Bang Zhang would be a huge event in China and AJ a lot of AJ's best wins came against opponents who were in the 39-41 range so E-Hearn would feel more comfortably matching him up with Big Bang now as opposed to a young prime version albeit Big Bang is obviously still very formidable and very dangerous. Maybe E-Hearn would like to leave that one a little longer and age Big Bag out a little more. AJ did beat him in the amateurs though. E-Hearn, AJ, and Ben Davison can STFU about a third crack at Usyk though. How many times does Usyk have to beat his ass? How many undeserved shots does AJ get? How many rolls of the dice does he get when his beaten opponents only ever get one roll?
Hrgovic and Zhang are the ones that take him closer to his ultimate goal of undisputed so I think he'll want those to happen in 2024. With wins over those two he's most likely IBF champion and WBC mandatory challenger plus the biggest payday left for the winner of Usyk-Fury, or for anyone else if they retire. So that would put him in prime position. Ngannou will probably bring lots of money, and might be the kind of high profile fight the Saudis want, but won't bring him much closer to undisputed and he already have loads of money, so while it might well be Hearn's nr 1 pick it's not necessarily Joshua's. And I think that the Saudis would also love Zhang, because that would bring the eyes of China on Riyadh, so that could actually be the big money fight as well as propelling AJ to clear top challenger status if he wins. I hope this will be the case and that it decides his choice.
Actually, I will hazard the guess that the Saudis might looking at getting Zhang, Joshua, Hrgovic and Ngannou on the same card, with the winners of the two fights (whichever combination finally is chosen) facing off later in the year. This would cost the Saudis a lot but would also make Riyadh the supreme boxing venue of 2024 and would even set up 2025 nicely, with the possibility that the winner of these two cards faces off with the winner of Usyk-Fury in Riyadh.