Looking through all the top ten lists out there. The only heavyweight I can see giving Joshua a tough fight, or possibly beating him is Alexander Povetkin. I think Povetkin's relentless come forward style will give Joshua problems in the middle rounds. Unfortunately i can't see this fight ever happening. Joshua has his next three fights lined up already, and people in America and Britain still don't seem to realise how good Povetkin is, and don't demand the fight. Anyway what do you think, will this fight ever happen?
No Povetkin is black balled. The whole meldonium farce was a convenient way to remove him from the picture.
PEDVETKIN would be his toughest fight, but plain old Pov would stand no chance , especially at age 37. Just like Maria Cheatapova has now turned into a outside top 50 player without her PEDs.
Right now I would , not too confidently, pick Povetkin to beat Joshua. I thought Povetkin looked like he has started to slip when he beat Rudenko, which isn't surprising since he's now 38. There's no way of knowing how Povetkin will look going forward. He could slide downhill quickly and get blown away by Joshua or it could be a slow decline and he still has enough to beat Joshua. I doubt we get to see the fight anytime soon since Joshua does seem to have his sights set on other fighters at the moment and if he ever did meet Povetkin he'd be 39-40 and Joshua beats him at that point. I don't think Povetkin is the only fighter who can beat Joshua. I think Wilder is an even type of fight and if he ever comes back Fury would have a good chance as well. There's also a couple guys who I wouldn't pick to beat Joshua but on the right night I could see them pulling an upset like Ortiz or Miller.
It would be a hard fight for AJ for sure, and one he would likely avoid for the next few years. Only way it would happen is if it was a mando.
I'll eat my balls if this fight ever happens. At least Povetkin could have many other good match-ups.
I'd love to see Povetkin vs Joshua. But nobody wants to fight Povetkin right now, they're waiting him out.