The most important round of Anthony Joshua's career

You make some fair points. The K bros & Lewis marked the start of the new era of talented, hard hitting, HW or SHW. Sure there were tall or very heavy HW going back to Willard. But not at the level of the above trio.

Not going to look all these up but I think Ali was 38 when Holmes dominated him. But by then Ali should have been retired, but his ego got in the way. I think Holmes was trying to mirror his old rival (although they never fought) Foreman. Tyson stopped him in 4?
Wlad even in early 40s was a top HW and is an ATG. If he was mid to late 30s he most likely would've stopped AJ. If Ruiz could...

I think AJ is more than just good, but can't put him at great at this time. Ofc h2h AJ and other top modern HWs demolish the CW and small HWs of decades ago.

 

I'm going with the last round of the first Ruiz fight. Defining round. Several things may have happened. Only time will tell. First, he may never underestimate an opponent and he can learn to modify his style to nullify an opponents strengths. He just needs to learn to do that while in the fight.

 

That right hand from Wladimir was perfectly timed and placed. What a freakin right hand that was. Joshua never saw it coming. AJ did well to recover and make it through the rest of the round.

 

Let me rephrase, AJ mighta saw it coming but not soon enough to avoid it. But yeah that shot would have knocked most Heavyweights out. Joshua though is built like a tank and has plenty of punch resistance to absorb it, take a deep breath and get back up.

Wlad did continue to press on for the remainder of the round, but AJ was cagey and kept his distance. However Wlad was kicking himself for not staying right on top of him at the start of the next round, by listening to his brother Vitali in the corner who advised him to stay cautious instead of going in for the kill. Wlad might have been able to get a stoppage if he stayed aggressive in the next round but he took his foot off the gas and let AJ shake out the cobwebs which eventually doomed Wlad in the end.

 

The most funny that Wlad then already 2? years was not current champion + he was 41 y.o.

Ill Ali who surprisingly get permit to fight vs current champ in prime Holmes. Sad fight in boxing history, well sold cos Ali is very big name for media and fans.

Coming out of retirement Holmes vs in prime Tyson during period when Tyson had turned better and better each day. Tyson's shape golden period.

 

I agree with practically all of that. Holmes was a very egoistic guy but his style, like Ali's, didn't age gracefully. Foreman on the other hand was a caveman who in many ways got better with age. He didn't ever have good speed or stamina but he was naturally a very large man with a great chin and a huge punch, so putting on 40 pounds of fat turned him into a 260 pound juggernaut. He also improved technically with age, as well as gaining experience and a more mature attitude. The 10 year interregnum also meant he had a lot less wear and tear than the vast majority of fighters his age. Foreman in his mid-late 40's was still a force to be reckoned with if you couldn't stay out of his way or didn't have a very solid chin. I rate him above Ali.

Wlad at 41, beaten and inactive, fighting away was still good, a lot better than Holmes or Ali at similar ages but he was a much lesser version of himself. Winning as AJ did by the skin of his teeth, mostly due to Wlad's hesitation, suggests that he wasn't near the level of a prime Wlad. And after suffering the most humiliating defeat of all time to Ruiz I think the chances of him ever reaching a similar level to Wlad are very slim. Wlad in his prime was (barring Vitali) virtually invincible at the time. Prime Povetkin was easily the 3rd best heavyweight a decade ago, a very tough and crafty operator but he was still a good way behind the Klitschko's. Conversely and even taking Fury out of the equation, AJ is very beatable. I wouldn't really favour him against the likes of Usyk, Joyce or Hrgovic. Hunter and Wilder (if Fury hasn't destroyed him mentally, as it seems he has) could cause AJ a lot of problems too.

 

Bye Bye Anthony Joshua’s lower jaw bone