Can AJ really beat klitschko??

Hopefully wlad flattens him

If AJ wins its due to Father Time

It's going to be interesting to watch

 

I think AJ edges wlad, even though I'm a wlad fan... UD

 

Sure, why not?
The Klitschko that fought Fury last year would probably have lost to most of the top10 at the time. When they fight, Wlad is coming off a 1.5 year layoff after one of the worst performances of his career.

That makes Joshua the rightful favorite with the bookies, although being largely untested at the top level.
I expect Wlad to be better and trow a lot more punches this time around despite being older though, and slightly favor him myself. But I really can picture another Tyson vs Holmes situation happening, to which many compare this to.

 

Kiltschko is definitely not past it, he lost to Fury because he can move or box as well as Tyson, simple as that.
He does move and box better than AJ though, so he most likely wins.
Age, power, momentum etc are of negligible importance in this one. Wlad signs off from the sport 'at the top'...ahem...bye.

 

Wlad knocks him out in 6. AJ will never have been hit as hard as he's going to April 29th. Wladimir won't make that mistake of not letting his shots go again. I think the Fury loss bothered him a lot.

 

Honestly don't think the Klitschko that fought Fury would have lost to many others, he was just flummoxed by Fury's size and movement in my humble opinion.

 

And thats why you picked Wlad to destroy Fury in a one sided blow out yeah? Keep sucking on that lemon satly.. Hows the boxing scene in Belgium again? HA.
Muppet.

 

He doesn't need to get past the long jab and 1-2's, as he is of a similar size so can stand and box him from range without having to try and get inside.

The leaping left hook is a dangerous punch, but while Joshua doesn't move as well as Fury he moves far better than Pulev and doesn't have the open mummy guard that Pulev adopts.

But the difference in experience could be where Joshua falls short. He's never fought at this level before and while I think he has the tools to beat Wlad, putting it all together on the night isn't so straight forward. This is where I have doubts that Joshua can win, he has to come in with the right strategy and execute it if he gets frustrated or struggles with the pressure then this could very quickly come unstuck, especially against a big puncher like Wlad.

I think the key to Joshua winning will come down to how he deals with Wlad's jab and grab, it ain't pretty but it's damn effective and Joshua doesn't have the significant size advantage or movement that Fury had, so he's going to have to come up with a different strategy to figure out the spoiling tactics of Wlad.

Joshua has to get off first. Wlad is only effective if he can get off first and then clinch to prevent a counter, if Joshua can get off first he doesn't have to worry about the counter, because Wlad doesn't counter punch. If he can't beat Wlad to the punch he'll get clinched and smothered and will lose.

Even if Wlad does win, I don't think it will be an easy night for him. Joshua has the tools to beat him, he's easily the most athletic big man he's ever fought. How does Wlad deal with a guy that matches him physically, who I believe will out jab him. Wlad's jab has been missing for quite some time now. Out jabbed by the smaller Pulev, unable to establish it against Jennings and out jabbed by Fury.

 

If Wlad's jab is anything like it once was, AJ has real issues in this fight. He's never boxed anyone in the pro ranks who has disrupted his work with a solid jab. Haye said the one thing he took from his fight with Wlad was how hurtful his jab was. But it's not only the power of the jab which will cause issues. AJ has pretty much been able to launch attacks on his opponents as and when he chose to. But with Wlad's jab disrupting his rhythm and balance, AJ will have to get used to re-setting and aborting attacks to avoid being left open to solid counters, left and right. And how will he cope with being pushed back? Can he even fight off the back foot against a quality fighter? We simply don't know.

But it's not only the impact of Wlad's lead hand which will be a new challenge to AJ. Wlad often uses his left to block his opponent's view by leaving it out extended in the eye line. And the way Wlad leans back while doing this will cause range issues too.

By no means am I saying AJ cannot overcome this. But his lack of experience against different styles of fighters during the first 18 bouts of his career is a huge oversight on behalf of his match makers. He's been fed opponents to make him look good rather than a range of fighters to expose him to challenges he will face in the future. This might come back to bite him on the backside. If Wald is even just 80% of the boxer he was at his peak, this is a very live fight. Much closer to his peak and Wlad wins.

 

It just takes a couple hard punches by AJ to flatten Wlad. So yes, AJ can very well win this. He needs to let his hands go, have good reflexes and not get countered early like Pulev did.

 

You will simply never give Fury credit will you? Fury won because he's got a very high ring IQ, great defense (when he's not messing around), handspeed, size, movement, jab etc etc. Fury would have given any Wlad nightmares, and may well have beaten any version of Wlad.

Joshua should be a significant underdog in this; I simply do not see how Joahus can do to Wlad what Fury did, he doesn't have the movement for a start. He CAN win no doubt, but I only see it happening by KO, and Wlad still has the chin he always had, and this is probably the biggest knockout threat he has faced in a long time.

 

Joshua is licking his chops, he can't believe his luck that Wlad actually wants it. This will be business as usual for AJ, early KO round 3 or 4.

 

And another huge factor in this fight: AJ has NEVER been past seven rounds. Just over half-way is the furthest he's been taken, and without a string of top names on his resume to turn this into a positive. Yet again, an example of awful match-making by Hearn to let his cash-cow fighter take on a genuine threat without the knowledge if he has the stamina to last 12 rounds. We've seen it all before; a musclebound HW gassing in the championship rounds. I mean it's not unheard of is it?