I used to see this as a 50/50. Now I edge it for Wilder as I think he has more heart. I see AJ beating Wilder up for a couple of rounds before walking straight into a bomb laying him into a heap ala Brazeale.
The Dosser can't fight and his resume is garbage His best wins are a lead-footed short reach Ortiz whose head is a magnet for right hands and who was two weeks shy of his 39th birthday in their first fight and a lead-footed short reach giant penguin Stiverne whose head is a magnet for right hands and who lost to virtually every tall guy he fought who was over 6'4'' ie. he was tailor-made for The Dosser The only one he didn't lose to was a 40 y/o way past it Ray Austin who boxed his ears off for the vast majority of the fight before getting clipped. That 40 y/o past it Austin is the second best opponent Stiverne beat. Allow that sink into your abode. Austin was considered one of Wlad's weakest defences and he was crucified for facing a prime four year younger version of him even though it was a mandatory defence and Austin hadn't lost in like six years Wlad knocked Austin out in 2 rounds despite intentionally not throwing a single right hand in either round This content is protected The Dosser should be 0-3 on his own soil against the only prime truly world class opponent he fought and he fought a 40% version of them in the first fight
Povetkin had a great win over Whyte two years after his fight with Joshua. Let's add that Ruiz and Ortiz will face each other soon.
Wilder Bodyguard Council still have The Dosser ranked #1 despite the fact he's not only 0-2 in his last two fights but he lost both fights via KO and stoppage on his own soil and with the exception of one round where Fury got complacent because he was finding it so easy both losses were one-sided massacres. The WBC was in the Dosser protection game from the get-go
Yeah I'd say over time the fight has become more of a 50/50 whereas initially it was seen as easy work for AJ.
At AJ's zenith he was a clear favourite over Wilder but Wilder was still given a better chance than any AJ opponent (including Wlad). It was always regarded as a dangerous fight. The reasons for the changes in opinion are not vague at all: AJ got beaten down and quit against a stubby, obese, light punching late sub 25-1 underdog. Since then he became the first SHW champion to lose in emphatic fashion to an ex-cruiserweight. Wilder's 0-2-1 against Fury was far less embarrassing and he gave a better account of himself in those fights, particularly in terms of heart and will to win. AJ's opponents have also turned out to be overrated (his only wins that aged well were Kevin Johnson and Povetkin and even then they aged well at the expense of Pulev, Ruiz, Parker and Whyte) whereas Wilder's opponents were underrated. Arreola was considered to be well past his best when he got schooled and stopped by an injured Wilder but 5 years later and coming off a 21 month layoff Arreola went life and death with Ruiz over 12. Duhaupas and Washington were considered to be considerably worse than Helenius before they knocked him out etc.
Only with casuals and deluded Wilder fans. Most people with knowledge of boxing van recognise AJ has half a dozen wins (Wlad, Povetkin,, Whyte, Parker, Ruiz and Pulev) more impressive than Wilder has ever managed (Ortiz being his best lol).
It was difficult to make a fight between Joshua and Wilder for the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world. It is difficult to make a fight between Joshua and Wilder now that they are not champions. So I suggest that the Joshua Vs Wilder fight be the last match of the career for both of them, and that way all the mysteries are solved.