If AJ is even 50% of what he was in the Dubois fight, he sparks the Russian inside 6. If he somehow loses, he's done and he needs to GTFO of the sport.
It has been explained to you many times, you just choose to not listen. Joyce fight pre Zhang never made sense. AJ fought Usyk in 2021 and 2022 when Joyce really took off and nobody expected AJ to jump straight into Joyce after back to back losses. After that, Joyce was beaten to a pulp by Zhang and took immediate rematch in which he got sparked out again. When Zhang was on AJ's list people were saying he's cherry picking the loser and should fight the Croatian. They were also saying he beat him in the Olympics so he knew it would be easy, lol. Wilder ducked AJ and admitted it. AJ would have fought Hrgović if he beat Dubois. He fought the guy who beat the Croatian. AJ signed to fight Fury in 2021 but Tyson lost the arbitration and needed to fight Wilder for the third time. Now tell me why didn't Fury fight Joyce, Zhang and Hrgovic
AJ would have to start as a big favourite. He's faster, longer reach, and Mak's defence is too porous. That being said, this is Mak 3.0 who has morphed into an American slickster and would he be able to outbox AJ on the backfoot using his newfound American slickness/octopus grabbing like he did to Allen? I think that's a tough ask as AJ is not a much shorter fat guy with a T-rex reach who he can keep at range with the jab But on the other hand, Allen arguably has the best chin in the division and if AJ doesn't get Mak out of there early and gets clipped by that brutal power of his he's getting KO'd and how much does this post-Usyk and Dubois version of AJ have left? I would strongly favour AJ though
If I were Joshua, I wouldn't take a fight like that. It's a "you're better at practically everything and you can still get beat" type of fight. There's not much to gain, but a lot to lose. Joshua moves better, has better reach, and is faster. He's also a better puncher technically. But what good is it when Makhmudov is a typical lumberjack who throws such explosive attacks that one mistake and everything goes to waste? He could have cut himself like Fury against Ngannou. In that fight, it was supposed to be easy and enjoyable, but it ended in a fight for his life and a narrow victory for Tyson. And Fury still has the recovery time to save him in moments like that – Joshua, not necessarily. Besides, it's unclear where Joshua is now and how much of the guy is left. This pause and Dubois's inclusion clearly show that there's little faith left. It would be much better if he fought someone like Hughie Fury, Jarrell Miller, or even Joyce. Apart from Fuey, these wouldn't be easy fights either, but at least they don't have such a deadly single bomb.
Dave Allen ranks Mak Hardest puncher he's fought 2nd hardest he's shared a ring with behind Chisora Said his shots had more snap than thud which surprised him Said his jab was horrible Said his hands were pretty fast, faster than he thought they would be or if not he had really good timing Was really surprised by his punch output Extremely tough, tougher than he thought he would be Wasn't as physically strong as he thought and that he's never fought anyone that felt stronger than him. Big Joe Joyce, who he sparred, was very physically strong though This content is protected
People are underestimating just how finished Joshua is. If someone puts him on the back foot, he is in trouble. Honestly, it wouldn't surprise me if Mak ended his career, considering the Klitschko fight was 8 years ago, that's a long time in HW boxing, and Joshua has been declining ever since Ruiz 1.
Yep, AJ is the clear favorite, but any result is possible in this fight. Big Mak would be a live underdog.
Not convinced Joshua and Hearn will risk Mak. He is slow and one dimensional but as confirmed by Allen after their fight, hits extremely hard and hurts. Suspect Joshua might settle for Yoka.