I don't disagree agree The Ruiz loss was a bad unexpected loss but I wonder if the constant pressure was a part of it In Joshua's last 2 fights before Ruiz, he had faced top 10 opposition, one of which was a big unification and was due to face another top 10 rated undefeated opponent which got changed to world rated Ruiz It's what I was saying about when constantly facing top 10 opposition there is more chance of having a loss We will never know but I do wonder that if Joshua had have gone down the same route as Fury by facing a top 10 rated opponent and then either having a couple of fillers or taking time away, would he have been better prepared mentally? Rather than the constant pressure. It was a tough schedule Fury after the Wladimir win didn't go straight back in with another top 10 rated opponent. After he faced Wilder the first time, didn't go in to the immediate rematch and gave himself some time off against lesser opponents. With the Wilder return he didn't face him at the original date but on a later date. He didn't seem interested in the Usyk fight after the Whyte fight, faced Chisora as a tune up, decided not to face Usyk after, then didn't face Usyk in December and then had to postpone the new date after, so the fight didn't happen until a suitable time That was a bit of a waffle but I was putting the point forward that when fighting more often under pressure, slip ups can happen Maybe that even played a part for Fury in feeling under pressure to look good against Ngannou and that wasn't against top 10 rated opposition This is one of the reasons I find the whole Fury/Joshua debate controversial It's if you rate taking on stiffer competition more frequently or facing good competition taking time off to be prepared and then doing so again at a later time Taking the right fight at the right time sort of thing
Joshua was on a 2 fights a year program in the lead-up to Ruiz. In fact he'd only fought 7 rounds in the 14 months immediately prior to fighting Ruiz. It's time people stopped trying to make excuses. He just put in a shocker.
Many fighters when they become premier attractions have less fights unless they are filler fights At that time Joshua was making title defences and unifications Usyk only had 1 fight in 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023 It goes that way. Especially for bigger fights, less so for filler fights When Joshua didn't regain his title against Usyk he then had some filler fights and fought 4 times in the space of a year That's what I was saying earlier in that Fury has I think had 6 fights from and including winning his first world title against top 10 rated opponents which is over nearly 9 years I think you are incorrect I think Joshua had fought 18 completed rounds in the 14 months prior to the Ruiz fight
What you say above should also apply to usyk He has fought quality opposition, but he rarely fights compared to other ATG I wonder if he had 15 or more pro fights, while fighting regularly, would he have losses like Lewis, Ali, Holyfield, Tyson etc This is why I place him behind others and I do agree with your point about Fury. Guys like Floyd and manny have more world title fights than usyk has had fights, do I don't understand the goat nonsense
In the the 14 month window between fighting Parker on 31/3/2018 and fighting Ruiz on 1/6/2019, Joshua only had one fight, Povetkin and it only lasted 7 rounds. So Joshua did only fight 7 rounds in the 14 months immediately prior to fighting Ruiz, and as I stated earlier, it's time people stopped trying to make excuses for the Ruiz loss.
Definitely the same standards should apply in debates. Also circumstances have to be taken into account as well In the case of Usyk he turned pro quite late so wouldn't have so many early career fights He was also tied in to rematches and postponements out of his control I do agree though that fighting more often especially at a higher level lends more chance of losing Floyd and Manny are two absolute legends I have never understood alot of the criticism angled at Floyd. I always felt he took on the big challenges around his weight
Fair enough. I must have been wrong. Seems a bit knit picking in that you could say 14 months and 1 day and then he fought 18 completed rounds, but yes if those dates are correct then yes I don't grasp the relevance of the one day tbh Normally less fights happen when big events, which they all were, where one was a unification and another was being built to showcase him in America. What excuses exactly? I have said it was a bad unexpected loss
Wlad, Povetkin, Whyte, Ruiz, Parker, Pulev, Helenius, Wallin, Takam, Franklin, Martin. Bad losses to Ruiz and Dubois, lost twice to Usyk. Wlad, Wilder x3, Whyte, Del Boy x3, Wallin, Hammer. Lost to Usyk and arguably should have losses to John McDermott and an 0-0 in boxing MMA fighter. AJs resume is clearly better in terms of depth.
That's exactly the point I have been raising in this thread and the one some here find so difficult to accept. That bad, unexpected loss to Ruiz and the schooling Joshua received against Dubois are what separate his record from Fury's.
I didn't dispute the loss in any way I just disagree about what you are saying re difference in record and think it is debatable. I can see it either way One has a couple of bad losses, the other didn't take a route with as many top 10 rated opponents and fights against top 10 rated opponents as close together. So I can see an argument either way and couldn't say who I think has the greater resume with any real certainty Think both have been great for HW boxing I guess you see it clearly one way and I am on the fence Good debating you
Most things are debatable. This particular topic being no exception. If you think Joshua's record, despite the losses, is still better than or equal to Fury's, I'm happy to agree to disagree.
RING have just released their latest heavyweight rankings and there's no surprise that they have Usyk and Fury in the top two positions. RING have Joshua at #7 and with only 6 wins from his past 10 fights it isn't hard to see why. Particularly when you take into account 2 of those losses were stoppages against underdog opponents.
I can't fathom Fury at #1 behind Usyk. His last 3 fights are loss to Usyk, Ngannou and Chisora He hasn't beaten a top 10 opponent in over 2 years The last win over a top 10 rated opponent was Whyte over 2 years ago Dubois in under a year has beaten undefeated Miller, undefeated Hrgovic and Joshua, scoring 2 wins over top 10 rated opponents in under 6 months That is why I have Dubois after Usyk now
