Joshua vs Dubois is a very interesting match up

I don't disagree with anything said here.

 

Dubois' best chance is to get AJ into a fit of rage, and AJ then leaves himself vulnerable. It's not too far fetched, AJ has left himself open under different circumstances.

Dubois begun the groundwork at the face off. His major avenue to agitating AJ is by not brown nosing him the way Bellend and Hearns do. He has a sensitive psyche.

It would also mean Dubois has to wear a lot of punishment to deliver his own.

 

Dubious has no heart. First big shot AJ lands on him, he'll lay down and quit.

 

My first thought when this fight was first talked about was AJ is to good for Dubious and will KO him. I still favor AJ to win by a mid to late stoppage but I can see Dubious causing AJ some trouble I can also see him possibly hurting AJ. OP mentioned Povetkin I am thinking that Dubious is the biggest puncher AJ has fought since Povetkin and AJ does not like to get hit so an upset is not out of the question in my opinion.

 

Bit of a stretch to call Dubois top 5.

Most have it Usyk, Fury, Joshua, Parker, Zhang. Many will have Kabayel higher than Dubois too.

Dubois v Joshua is an exciting match up, but I don't think being gifted a belt should elevate a fighter over his peers.

 

Dubois has a punchers chance but Joshua is a level above him at least. I honestly don't see a single advantage Dubois has over Joshua, at best he's equal in terms of power, but jab, speed, footwork, defence, experience, height, reach, even chin, I think Joshua has the edge.

 

Only because Dubious has a puncher's chance. And it would be very funny if AJ got KO'd.
But it's just another hype matchup.
Dubious lost to Joyce who isn't good. And he lost to Uysk who is far smaller and far older and far less powerful.
He has one good win, over the Croatian, who himself has one good win, which many thought wasn't even a win.

The standards are set so low for AJ it's laughable. He's supposed to be some amazing champ and people pat him on the back for beating the MMA fighter, Wallin and then think this is a great test for him.

 

It's a bit of a stretch to call anyone fifth... I know someone has to be, but the quality and especially provenness drops off a cliff after the top 4.

Zhang's overhyped, hits hard but only has a 5-6 round gas tank and is literally 3-2-1 against top-200 fighters.

Dubois is improving, but still not prime and is getting overrated on the basis of having beaten Hrgovic (who was hopelessly overrated).

Kabayel looks okay but is again nowhere near proven enough for how much he's getting hyped.

 

That is a fair comment. Though I'd say the big drop off is after #1.

Anyway, I would probably include the manner of the wins and losses to judge who is 5 (and who they were against).

Though, I think you are being a bit harsh on Kabayel. Imagine the hype if he was British or American. He's now made easy work of Chisora, Mahkmudov, and Sanchez. Many have done far less for a title shot. He is prime age, and undefeated.

 

I know Hrgovic isn't a banger like Zhang, but he hit Dubois with some FLUSH shots and Dubois walked right through them. How that is the same guy that Usyk knocked out with a jab I'll never know.

While I don't think he will walk through AJ like that, if he could take 2 to land one, it might surprise some people. I just don't have a lot of confidence in AJ's chin after Ruiz I.

That being said, I think this fight is going to look a lot like Ruiz II. AJ is going to stay out of harm's way. Dubois won't be able to get to him, and AJ will do enough to win on the cards. Since I plan on buying the PPV, I hope that's not the case.

 

Both of them are not brave enough to risk everything for a boxing match.

That's why, its not so interesting for me.

I believe both of them can quit at any time.

 

Bad fight for DD. . I was watching Hrgovic hit him with right hands and narrowly missing huge uppercuts while landing some.
The uppercut is Joshua's best punch and he's very accurate. Don't think Dubois will weather the early onslaught and power but credit to him for willingness to fight the best available.

 

Dubois did well against Hrgovic but he ate a lot of right hands. I can’t imagine it ending well if he eats as many right hands against Joshua.

 

To be fair, there's a big dropoff after Usyk and another after Parker...

As far as Kabayel goes... Yes, he did well with Chisora (albeit 7 years ago), but it's not as if Makh or Sanchez is anything particularly special - they were both overhyped for their respective records... That's not to say they're not decent wins, but I'd expect more of a top 5 level fighter - the fact there's nobody obviously/significantly more proven than that (ie the fact it's debatable) shows how big the dropoff is after Parker IMHO.

 

Strictly speaking Usyk didn't knock him out with a jab - but he did dominate him to the point where Dubois knew he couldn't win and quit.

Initially, yes, I expect Joshua to box fairly tight and cautious - get ahead on the cards without taking too many risks...

If/when he figures out Dubois he might unleash - like he did to Ngannou (who didn't take long to figure out and time).
Ngannou might be more basic, but he can still hit pretty hard and Joshua was willing to let his hands go once he'd figured him out.

It'll be interesting to see how Joshua opts to fight - I'd be very surprised if he doesn't win, though.