Anthony Joshua is still a superb fighter

AJ is a solid heavyweight, he is very good. Much better than Bruno ever was, his resume is good too. He did look lost and his confidence is now poor. Not sure he can rebuild. But he has had a good career. Not HOF or ATG. But he would beat many heavyweights this thread has him losing too.
I mean he defeated prime top 10 heavies in Parker, Whyte, Ruiz, as well as fringe contenders Takam, Martin (who had a belt lol), Breazale
And past prime still top 10 contenders Klitschko, and Povetkin as well as past prime former top 10 Pulev.
That is a good resume for his age and the number of fights he has had. He actually has the deepest resume still in the division even if Fury has the best win over Wlad.
We’ll see if he can turn this loss around and produce a hall of fame career. Right now I don’t think he can or will, but he has a solid foundation.

 

It is not beyond the realms of possibility and Joshua has power, but he is not the clinically offensive force of Joe Louis.

 

I wouldn't say he's ever been 'superb', as the topic headline states.
He's a solid/good HW with a few flaws. He still has a future if his heart is in it.

 

So you're reduced to saying something everyone agreed with even before he fought Usyk. Nobody thought he'd beat Louis, Ali, Holmes....

But Schmeling and Baer would not beat him.

 

It seems like the same people that say you shouldn't be carried away by one good performance or win (which I agree with) do just that with one loss.

Just as when he had KO'd Wlad and Povetkin - let's wait where we put him until his career is over shall we. He could lose the rematch and retire, and he could win and go on to beat Fury and clean out the rest. Less likely, perhaps, but possible. We don't know yet, so let's wait with the necrology until he's actually retired, shall we?

 

Let’s face it, he never was

 

Reduced? No, I'm saying he was never superb. Obviously not everyone agrees or else this thread would not exist. If anything, I've added to my position upon confirmation of Joshua's tendencies and attributes.

 

He is a good fighter no doubt.

But he is what he is, and sadly he is finding out first hand the shitty side of things..

Barrell and over spring to mind..

 

I think he finished. The Ruiz knockout and years of been busted up an concussed in sparring have taken its toil on him. He's totally gunshy now like he knows he can’t rely on his ability to take a punch anymore. Usyk was a fast accurate puncher but no one would say he was a hard puncher especially by heavyweight standards but it looked like he had Joshua shaking like Elvis everytime he connected.

 

Superb heavyweight is something I would apply to Louis, Lewis, Ali, Holmes, Norton, Holy, Wlad, Tyson.

I don't see AJ in that orbit. No.

But then, I don't quite see anyone else post-Wlad there, either. I do put Fury a notch above AJ, pretty much entirely based on the Wilder stoppage.

AJ's winning the title back from Ruiz didn't impress me much. He shouldn't have lost in the first place, it put him in the ranks of 80s shoulda-coulda-wouldas like Tubbs, Thomas, Page.