Joshua says Fury hasn't proven himself against tough competition

I think he needs to learn from me and just ignore me. He mentions me in nearly every other post he makes despite the fact I never reply to him, quote him or even mention him. This somehow winds him up even more, and his go-to insult is, sadly yet again, to start chucking around stuff about gays. What does he think is going to happen?

 

What on earth are you on about? Wlads boxing home was Germany and he enjoyed many advantages from that.

 

Wladimir Klitschko isn't German. He's as much the home fighter as Canelo fighting Kovalev in Vegas is, or Pacquaio fighting in the US.

It's more to illustrate the point that boxing isn't a home and away sport. The fight happens, almost all the time, where it will make the most money. Hence the likelihood, however much we may not like the fact, that Joshua Fury will happen in Saudi.

The wider point is that I don't think being some sort of road warrior type 'beat them away from home' mantra reflects much beyond that fighter usually being the B side.

 

It's not a home and away sport like otger sports but the 'home' fighter or A side tends to get preferable treatment.

That is the home advantage. I guess it's more of an expression than a literal meaning when we say it about boxers, but you know that and just want to be conflicting.

 

No I get that - it's really a side issue. It's more the general point that you often hear people talk about Fury going to Klitschko like some sort of statement of intent or being used to back up how good he was, in a similar way to Froch going to Kessler/Ward/Taylor when Calzaghe had Kessler/Lacy come to him. It's not a matter of choosing it; Wlad ended up in Germany because that's where the money was. Same as Fury now fighting in the US.

I wonder if it would be something worth considering for a bit of sporting integrity within boxing. Rematch clauses take place elsewhere. It would be a nightmare to arrange of course but I wonder how much it does affect people. Hopkins in front of 60,000 screaming fans in Wales for example. I bet Joe would have stood him on his head.

 

But there will always be that home or A side fighter; Joshua v Ruiz is a prime example.

 

Klitschko was a superstar in Germany. He fought 51 times there. He only fought once in the Ukraine in 1998. That is why he had a 50/50 purse split as challenger to Joshua.

 

Welll, it's perhaps worth remembering that Anthony Joshua himself (and his promotional backers) at least partially bought into the idea that he needed to crack America to realize real boxing superstardom ...... and there was quite some fanfare around that when he eventually did venture to Madison Square Garden.

There's a strong suspicion that he "choked" a bit under the pressure.

 

I admittedly find it quite amusing how he takes the p*** out of you. It’s light relief.

 

Joshua properly cracked on his big American debut. Metaphorically shat in his britches. Imagine what a well-fuelled Baby Miller would have done to him if the tubby little Mexican fella bounced him around the ring like a chinny basketball and made him QUIT like a dog.

not even worth imagining what wilder would have done with him, and reinforces why Barry Hearns went on record saying they ducked wilder to preserve the big Josh money train.

of course this was a pre Epstein exposure Barry Hearns, these days he doesn’t say anything on record to anyone, ever.

 

0 chance is a bit much, I feel it will be a cagey chess match if it goes ahead.

 

I'm quite confident it will happen in 2021. (there's a small chance Pulev or Wilder upset the applecart).

It will be a great fight and when all is said and done I think just about everyone here will come to see that Fury and Joshua might just be the best thing to ever happen to British boxing.

 

That was a massive volte-face from Eddie Hearn. He'd spent months saying that the new home of boxing was the UK, that gone were the days when British fighters looked to Vegas etc etc. Then he signed the DAZN deal and suddenly it was full speed ahead on 'AJ's American debut'.

Penny for Sky's thoughts.

 

Then ran to the middle East when he got bounced off the canvas.

 

Did he run away from fighting in the US or towards getting 50m oil dollars? I think they just go where the money is. Although given what was at stake I'm sure they were happy to find a non US venue for the fight.