He held multiple titles and defended them multiple times. He fought against decent guys. He had his back and forth and I think he performed well against Usyk. He came close to being KOd in the first fight maybe, but he improved for the rematch and had his moments. Its a good performance against the man or the second man in the division. I think AJ is still a top HW contender even if I believe he needs to improve character, I think he still is a key player in the division and he is not finished at all. He can regain the titles at some point and has to be proven against Fury and Wilder. Some have written him off too fast after losing twice against the road warrior.
Irrelevant. Fighting once a year, 2-3 in his last 5 fights, 1 KO win in last 4 years. He should have fought again last December and be way more active in general. He needs a couple of wins to build his profile once again.
Hurdles for AJ to overcome 1. Winless since December 2020 2. He only regards one of his last eight fights as being one of his top five performances (Ruiz 2, 2019), compared to four of his best performances in the seven fights pre-Takam (Kevin, Whyte, Martin, Wlad, 2015-2017), indicating that he regards his best days as being well in the past and that it was generally downhill post-Wlad 3. Now 33, made an absurd amount of money (which is AJ’s self-confessed primary motivation), been a media superstar and had two title reigns over almost 5 years 4. Said he was “coming towards the end of my career” in January 2021, before his losses to Usyk 5. 3 defeats (2 by upset) in his last 5, NOMAS7 with 4 KD’s received in his first (and thus far only) fight on away soil to B-side, 5’11, 270 lbs obese non-puncher Ruiz (the most humiliating defeat in combat sports history) 6. Back to back points defeats to B-side, 6’3, 220 lbs, ex-cruiser non-puncher Usyk 7. 1 KO win in his last 5 fights and 4.5 years, against 39 year old inactive non-puncher Pulev late: little confidence or desire to get stuck in, prefers to play it safe and go to a decision even if he is being outboxed 8. By the same racial logic that Joshua applied to Eddie Chambers in 2017, Joshua has long been a “bum” and a “disgrace” 9. Uncertainty with and lack of confidence from his team 10. Continues to see his résumé age horribly 11. Gone from hero to zero, lost a huge amount of support (much of it to sneering antagonist Fury) and respect 12. Fears (or perhaps hopes) that another defeat could end his career 13. Several of the top guys he hasn’t fought (undefeated Fury, Wilder, undefeated Joyce) are also favoured to beat him, most likely by KO
He's not gonna be the A Side against any of the top names again, that's for sure. No more lions share of the purse for him.
I think contractual obligations are the only reason he's not retired. The hungers gone. He's not been seen or heard from for 6 months (or however long ago his last fight was).
Beat decent guys? He beat Charles Martin, and one foot in the retirement home Klitschko! Lol don't even get me started on that blob Ruiz!
My local plumber down here in kansas city has decent hands. At this point I do not exclude the possibility of him fighting AJ and having a close fight with him
Lot of rubbish on here. He is #3 until proven otherwise, and at 33, is YOUNG for the top of the division, with Usyk, Fury, Joyce and Wilder all being 35 or over. He won't beat Usyk, Fury or Joyce, but he can outwait them, and anyone else in the division is going to have a long night with him. When the belt inevitably split up, he will absolutely be a three-time champ if he wants it. Besides Fury, he has another huge fight with the winner of Ruiz-Wilder, either man providing intruige for obvious reasons. Good times ahead if he is motivated and can get his confidence back.
He has fought once per year for the past 3 years. Doesn’t have any belts and is now fighting the guy that lost to the guy he should be fighting next. Whyte is calling him out for not following through on the promise to fight the winner of Whyte-Franklin. Looks to me like he is winding down and his heart is no longer in the sport. But the money is too good to turn down. Let’s face it whilst he can still get mega money for low quality fights, he will continue. However, if he has to face live bodies to earn a decent payday then you will see that he loses his pen.
