Where would a Wlad win over AJ rank?

1. Lennox routinely came in heavy against big guys hoping to break them.
2. 35? say it isn't so! Wlad is 41 and about to fight the most dangerous guy in the division.
3. When you are 6'5 and your absolute peak weight is 246 lbs, coming in at 256 is NOT CALLED FAT.

As further proof, see photos from a weigh in. To conclude, the main point of my post is that it was careless, but not out of shape Lennox, that almost got knocked out by Vit. Lucky cut that sliced the man's face in half is the reason he didn't take a rematch. 35 is NOTHING by HW standards.

 

I think it will enhance his legacy.. Probs put him into a top 5 position..

Even if AJ turns out to be a hype train he still has looked the goods up until this point and nobody has been able to stop him at all..

He is a unbeaten world champ in his prime so no matter what that is a good win for anybody...

 

that would have been fury.

 

aj really hasnt beaten anyone of note yet

 

he did weigh four more pounds than against rahman. thats a huge amount on a guy 6'5"

 

Sarcasm?

 

Really really really high, atg level possibly.

A part of me wants Wlad to pull this off, might be something epic.

 

Objectively speaking, I think the notion of putting Anthony Joshua on par with past greats who fought in (arguably) more talent-rich/competitive eras is somewhat premature right now. AJ has been an exciting fighter thus far and he turns up in shape, sure. He has gotten rid of the guys he's fought the way he's supposed to. But hasn't had the deepest competition and he only has 18 professional fights. The jury is still out on him.

On the other hand, AJ's next opponent (Wladimir Klitschko) has almost three times as many KO victories as he's had fights altogether. Regardless of who wins, this particular factor is not insignificant. Experience vs youth is definitely at play here as well. However, the gulf in experience is slightly more substantial when we consider WK's well-maintained physical condition.

To me, many fanatics are going into this prepped with the "age excuse" if Wladimir loses here.... but the truth is, even Wladimir himself believes he's going to thoroughly outclass this young pup. Sure, it's a great payday for him, but Wladimir is a guy who is already filthy rich -- he didn't take this fight for the money; he took it because he believes he's about to "derail a British hype job" en route to proving he's still at the top of today's HW division.

Some refuse to realize this, but Wladimir Klitschko is on the Hopkins plan. He could potentially do this at World Level for a solid 2 or 3 more years if he felt like it (before a true age related decline begins to set in). He's never received a sustained beating in the ring and he has always taken good care of himself in between fights, along with showing up in shape for every single outing throughout his career.

The betting odds on this fight are very interesting. I think Wladimir should be (at least) a slight favorite, all things considered. This could even turn out to be a mismatch, but I hope it's a good, competitive scrap either way. The HW division needs a big fight to come off devoid of any controversy.

Looking back on what Tyson Fury did in November of 2015... it is clear that the guy is being overlooked now. No one ever came remotely close to taking a 12 round decision over Wladimir Klitschko until he did it. No matter who wins the Wlad vs AJ clash, it is Fury who will still hold a legitimate claim to the reigns, even though he'll just be "lingering" following his self-imposed meltdown.

It's a real shame that the Fury-Wlad rematch never took place. <-- That would have been more of a legacy fight for Wladimir in my opinion, because it would've been Wladimir attempting to avenge a loss straight away (in his very next fight).

In closing, when I think of Joshua - Klitschko, I think about how AJ wouldn't even have his IBF trinket had Fury not been stripped of it. If Wladimir had retained against Fury, then fought AJ afterward, would any of the bookies be favoring AJ? Would people actually see the gulf in Pro experience and quality of opposition then? It's worth both pondering and putting into perspective.

To me, this fight is Anthony Joshua stepping up to prove himself, not Wladimir. We will get answers about AJ, but there's nothing left to find out about WK (he's done this before). The pressure is on AJ in a big way here... whereas AJ would've been considered just another run-of-the-mill opponent (and a "green" one) for Wladimir just two or three fights ago.

 

Not to make an issue out of it either way, but Lennox was 37 when he faced Vits (solely for the sake of accuracy).

 

Thanks, I have no problem being corrected when warranted.