Good bout. Stylistically Whyte is more of a threat than Franklin even if they are at about the same level overall now. Might be a huge mismatch if Whyte's chin doesn't hold up anymore, and that's a real possibility.
Pointless rematch Whyte is done and is not going to beat any of the big names if he does somehow win the rematch vs Joshua. And another win over Whyte does nothing really for Joshua's standing in the division. I guess it's an ok fight just because were actually getting two top 10 Heavyweights fighting, and the lack of Heavyweight fights has been disappointing amongst the big names. But for significance it does seem a bit pointless really, i'd much rather see Joshua vs Wilder or even the winner of Joyce vs Zhang 2.
Pointless fight, Whyte was not a threat even at his peak and this shop worn version has nothing but a punchers chance. Joshua himself knows this, he has acknowledged he needs to rebuild, so Whyte was picked as a safe opponent as he tries to evolve and develop a new style under Derrick James. But this fight makes sense financially, it will sell well in the UK regardless of the fact it's a mismatch. Brits love a local rivalry, no doubt the build up will be entertaining and the casuals will lap it up.
I like this fight in the same way I liked Brook/Khan. Sometimes you just have to roll with it and have some fun. Sounds like Hrgovic will be on the undercard. Good week for HW scheduling finally.
Filler fight for AJ, before Wilder in December. While people loves to hate on AJ and Hearn, where is some of the trolls that were explaining how Hearn was lying that AJ will fight 3 times this year, when AJ announce he will be back in December, after the Franklin fight, and everyone was hating on AJ and that he should fight in the summer. It's a filler fight, before the big showdown against Wilder. And i'm happy with Whyte as a opponent though ? Absolutely not. To be fair even Kabayel would be better, simply cause AJ hasn't face him yet. Franklin already beat Whyte, and was robbed, so what was the point of fighting Whyte again ??? AJ beats Franklin every single round. Whyte gives nothing in terms of resume for AJ. This is what i don't like with the UK fighters. So many useless rematches, when they are absolutely not needed. No problem with the lesser name, but it should have been a new name on the record. Something that brings something to AJ resume. The funny part though is, it's still going to be better than Wilder opponent, and most probably better than the Fury opponent.
I agree with most of this apart from the fact that I thin Ruiz is a better fighter than Whyte. Joshua by knockout everyday of the week, twice on a Sunday