Definetely agree. As they say its easier getting to the top that staying there. Especially when its guys like Joshua who rely heavily on their athletism. The pressures on...its tough fight after tough fight from now. Even if they turn out easiesh fights its still tough training camps after tough training camps. With massive promotions to be involved in everytime. I think the one thing that might come back to hurt him is he,s saying hes staying in the gym as opposed to having the longer break to further his skill etc. Logically it sounds like a great move...but it is hard not to hit a wall. Sometimes the most important thing is peaking at the right time. I don't think Joshua really needs to work on his skills too much looking at that heavyweight landscape. He has natural power/strength/size. Your never gonna make him Muhammad Ali. He doesn't need more skill. Its more important to come in fast, sharp and up for it. I think he,s starting to feel it all as well tbh. On top of the normal pressure that come with being the next big superstar. Regardless tho its still gonna take a big effort to take that crown from him with the pressure on or not.
I agree with all that. This is his hardest fight without a doubt in my mind. I appreciate that some (including AJ) will say Klitschko was, but i’m taking the context into consideration too. The Gloves are Off has changed my opinion of this fight. This is going to be a really good fight. I saw a fear of losing in AJ. That’s the first mental vulnerability i’ve seen from him. Fear can bring anxiety, anxiety can make you forget the things you’ve learnt and revert to type. Another thing I noticed was him acknowledging his heritage as a strength. We all know AJ means that those Samoan’s are proper tough people. Them kind of things get into your head. I don’t think this lad’s a pudding. He’s got really fast hands & shot variety. This lad is dangerous. I’m getting very excited about it. I just want a great fight.
Good post summed it up well. I think if Parker can get out of the first two rounds without being badly buzzed and it's a big if then I fancy him to go the distance. He looks very confident and I believe he genuinely thinks he will win, big question as you say, does he have tools to win ? I know one thing if he fights the entire fight like he did with Hughie Fury, on front foot swinging wildly he will be knocked out. Big difference is Hughie Fury has much better defensive movement than AJ, but AJ 100x more dangerous going forward. But gut feeling is he is going to fight coming in at angles and come in with quick flurries and look to come out of exchanges at angles and make ring as big as possible. Does he have defensive footwork to pull this off? I don't know tbh. I don't think AJ is as big a single puncher as people think so as long as Parker keeps moving and doesn't sit on ropes I see him going the distance. To win on points he will need to fight mainly on front foot as AJ has massive reach advantage and that will make going distance much harder, so I fancy AJ to win on points as I don't think Parker will be front foot for large periods.
and sometimes fear can sharpen the tools you have. I remember Lewis alluding to overlooking Raham in the first fight wherein the second he wasn't scared of him as such..but fearful of loosing, so that helped his focus or whatever. Should be a good fight cant wait. Moogs raised a good point actually. How big is the ring? Have AJ team tried to get a small one or is fairly standard?
Parker is going to take a brutal beating here. He seems to lack any real power. Against a bigger guy with a longer reach i can't see how he wins.
Parker is the hungrier fighter out of the two, AJ has already made it big time, multi millionaire, made up for life. I don't think Parker is a massive puncher also, pretty average in fact. But AJ has been on the deck several times. I see Parker dropping him whilst up close, and then not letting him off the hook after the count.
Going to ber verrrrry interesrting to see what Femi looks like after coming off the juice after so long....I have a feeling his punch power will massively down.....will be a points decision for Parker
Joshua will win and then all these people in this thread picking parker will turn round saying parker is a bum and give aj no credit
I'l give AJ credit if he wins. I'm not saying Parker is much good but he's no bum. I pick him to beat AJ, but it could go either way. Maybe AJ blasts him out. Whoever wins, I'm not going to say either of them are anything special. They're good heavyweights but nothing special at this stage. But they certainly aren't bums either. Unless they do something disgraceful, like foul out or quit pathetically, they can't be called "bums".
They actually arent You can pick any era you want and there were plenty of guys worse than these two near the top of the division
I had fight 116-113 to Joshua. Agree ref was shocking everytime Parker came close and landed ref jamp in. Also the tape was hanging of Joshuas glove and ref kept turning a blind eye.