Joshua is a good fighter. We've always known he's at least pretty good, now he's shown himself to be good. I don't believe he has the athleticism or boxing IQ to be a great fighter. Watching Klitschko move him around dramatically with the slightest feints made me cringe. Joshua is effective as an in and out mauler, but a sweet scientist he will never be. I understand he started boxing late, but there is only so much more ring IQ a "prime" Joshua can gain. He's lacking so many subtleties; all the tricks of a trade that a great fighter has in their arsenal. Joshua's athleticism is also not that of a future ATG. He's strong, has decent handspeed, and that's it. His mobility is well below average. A 41 year old nearly danced circles around him. Does Joshua have the ability to dance around anyone if he needed to? Plan A worked for Joshua against Klitschko. Then it failed miserably. Then Klitschko stepped off the gas long enough for Joshua to try plan A again. I don't see the depth of ability given the hype. I understand fighters where Joshua is from get hyped, I get it. I just don't see the makings of GREATNESS. Maybe if he had a granite chin.
Joshua would be hyped wherever he's from, he just beat an ATG heavyweight who rolled back the years in a barnburner. Just appreciate it for what it is like any normal boxing fan.
Oh and you don't get back up from the shot Wlad landed if you don't have a very good chin. That punch would have levelled most guys in the division.
He'll be knocked down a few levels after getting out boxed by Fury and then Povetkin or one of the dangerous up and comers like Teslenko or Hrgovic will knock him out. Especially after he has to change some supplementation habits after too many questions are asked and pressed.
Bro, you just overtly accused Joshua of taking "supplements" and named 2 cavemen that were actually busted for "supplements". Then named 2 more obscure fighters he may never fight. Where are you guys getting these names from?
Vlad has Joshua out on his feet, on the canvas badly hurt, but then Vlad let Joshua get back into the fight by the 10th round, Vlad should have gone all out for the knockout and he would have gotten it............there is supposed to be a rematch, even better money fight than the first, this will be another 50/50 fight, could go either way............
Let's allow his career to progress and given time all will fall into place. 19 fights with 19KO! And just beaten the most dominant heavyweight in the last decade in a fight of the year candidate. If you can't help but feel a little hype than I don't know who you can get excited for.
I didn't accuse him... just have a feeling he's going to end up busted. And where did I say those "CAVEMEN" (cute choice of words) didn't get busted?? Fury was set up (You're an idiot if you can't see that) and Povetkin should have had an Uncle Eddie to have his back. And you've never heard of those other guys?? Really?! Well you will
I didn't see greatness in Wlad when he turned pro, always thought his brother was the better pro fighter. Wlad was jittery, he was even more stationary than Joshua as he'd throw then sit there in front of his opponent to be hit back. Then he lost to Puritty and then to Sanders and Brewster, confirming my initial assessment of him. But look at what Wlad achieved. He did reinvent himself as a fighter, learned to become a spoiler, move better, though still not as well as his brother. And now Wlad is in my top 10 ATG heavyweights. I think Wlad proves a fighter can learn and improve late in their career. I don't think Wlad peaked until his 30's. Joshua is still only 27 and is actually showing improvement with each fight and now he has a better trainer in McCracken in his corner I expect his progress to accelerate. Sure he isn't a good an athlete as Wlad, but name a super heavyweight who was naturally as athletic as Wlad? Only lennox comes close to me, Joshua on terms of natural athleticism is as good or better than the likes of Bowe, Vitali, Fury etc. It's just when you compare him to Wlad who was always super fast and powerful for a super heavy that he looks slow and unathletic. And athleticism isn't everything. Vitali was less athletic than Wlad but he was the better fighter to me.
Not saying he is going to be a great fighter, I myself am not sold on his quality enough to reign long term, nor do I think he has the mentality or true love of boxing to even want to reign long enough, to be considered an ATG when its all said and done (I hope he proves me wrong on both counts) But, hes only had 55 rounds as a pro. I would be shocked if he doesnt steadily improve as he gains more world class experience. A comparison to other fighters, experience wise Wilder - 112 rounds Szpilka - 94 rounds Jennings - 121 Ortiz - 121 Fury - 146 hell... relative newcomer Oscar Valdez has 99 rounds under him. Joshuas lack of pro experience really cant be understated at this point. I find it really hard to believe he will not up his game a few more levels in the next two years. When he does that, I dont think his athleticism will play much a role in his greatness. His willingness to do what it takes to improve his stamina (drop the muscles), tightening up his work, and focusing on honing his defense, will play a big part. His defense can be considered IQ, so in that sense I agree he might not have the IQ to be great but its so early, just way too early to tell, imo. His next fight will tell me a lot, as he has so much material to learn from in this fight, that if he makes the same mistakes in his next one, it will say a lot about his ability to up his game further.
His ring iq actually surprised me in the Wlad fight, as I didn't think much of him in that regard beforehand. He isn't Fury, but combined with his size, power, heart and conditioning I think he has more than enough in his toolbox to beat anyone in the sport. He also shows a great capacity and desire for improvement, and is a far more patient operator than he was only a few fights ago. I think at this point he needs to try to get a bit more seasoning by going rounds with tough tricky opponents that will force him to adjust and pace himself. We know he can knock over big static guys like Breazeale and Molina, and it'd be interesting to see how he fares against movers. Unfortunately, aside from Fury (situation unknown) and Szpilka (who hasn't fought in over a year) there aren't that many guys out there that would fit the bill.
This is heavyweight boxing. Your expectations are unrealistic. Some people are just never happy, not matter what a fighter does in the ring. There's nothing wrong with AJ's chin either. Again, in the heavyweights, everyone is dropped or stopped at some point in their career.
To me he's just a slower, more robotic and more primitive version of Wlad. Basically poor man's Wlad.