The guy has a deep resume. Sure many names were past prime such as Wlad, Povetkin, Pulev. But he also defeated Joseph Parker, Dillian Whyte, Ruiz in a rematch, Carlos Takam, and some fringe guys like Charles Martin and Breazale. He obviously couldn’t close the deal with Usyk in two tries. But he gave his best effort. A noble effort. I hope to see him rebuild and face Wilder or Joyce in near future. If he can beat them a fight with Fury would still be big too.
His established fame means he can bounce back to an eventual Fury fight without running the gauntlet. Wilder and Joyce are massive risks he can do without.
He's repeatedly fought top contenders and defended his belts many times, he's surely been more of a champion than Fury who retires after every fight and Deontay Wilder who never beat anybody of note and ducked any legit opponent. But he still has a very annoying personality and i'm glad he lost again.
This. Joshua brought it on himself. I Can’t blame a fighter for losing, since every fighter can be beaten, but throwing a tantrum like a spoiled child and not congratulating Usyk shows that Joshua is a sore loser.
Post-fight behavior that was inexcusable. I'm hearing some 'he was emotional' crap in his defense. That's fine, but all he had to do was suck it up and wait his turn to speak. He could've explained whatever he felt he needed to explain to the world after Usyk was done speaking. Instead, he found a way to make everything about him and trample on the man's moment of achievement. No sympathy at all. It was a repulsive exhibition.
Im from the UK, we are not being harsh on Joshua. This guy earns millions upon millions just from sponsors, never mind what he earns from the fights. We support and get behind our sportsmen and women more than any other nation, we want to see them all succeed. But, Joshua is a disgrace. He clearly is a vile person, similar to Tyson Fury tbh. They are letting us down big time, every time either of those two open their mouths its a load of ****. Neither are humble, honest or worthy of us fans. Joshua isn’t being treated harshly by anyone, there giving him props for putting in the exact same performance again when as a professional he had time to get better. Maybe not good enough to win, but at the very least make a good account of himself. The tantrum’s he went on after the final bell is disgusting too. He doesn’t deserve anyone’s support in the UK. The only real fighter we have is Leon Edwards and he is in MMA
Some of it is - and as it should be, it was inexcusable. But I’m referring to the people calling him a stiff dosser. And a bum. His resume is good. He actually challenged himself taking on quality opponents.
I think most people have applauded his performance. He obviously trained very well and tried his best to win. That's all you can ask for. He has limitations that make it difficult for him to win at the elite level, and that's okay. He has been in some great fights and has an excellent resume. Most of the issues are with his erratic behavior after the fight. I chalk it up to his being concussed and out of sorts (I always try to give the guys a break for stuff they say immediately after a fight), but it's understandable why people are giving him a hard time. He behaved very badly.
Most of his career he’s gotten an unnecessary amount of praise. He’s been one of the most high-profile boxers in the world for several years. He’s going to get both. Comes with the territory.
I agree here. AJ made the post fight time in the ring about himself - but it wasn't about him, or at least shouldn't have been and he just couldn't grasp how cringeworthy he was being, or how misplaced his diatribe was. It was a slippery slope and he went down 100mph head first. Even when he tried to salvage himself he just came across as weird.
Incorrect. If, for the sake of argument, Fury were to be defeated by Sasha Usyk, he would handle it graciously. There would be no exhibition like the one we witnessed yesterday evening.
Who cares? Only AJ haters are making a big deal about what happened after the fight. Yet, guys can look like complete fools pre-fight and get a pass because it's selling the fight. It's what happens in the ring that matters, nothing else.