We might already know the winner of the fight. Wlad surely feels much more confident of the win than Joshua. Both guys are 6ft6 and 245 lbs, same power. In mental strenght Wlad has the edge. And boxing is 90% of mental. Wlad will win by KO in 6 rounds.
It might be 90% mental but you need that 10% physical as well. When the bell rings Wlad might find out his physical capacity is just nowhere what it used to be, and at that point his edge in mental strength will plummet too. None of us know. Wladmir doesn't even know.
Wlad has already been talking about choosing the way he wishes to ko Joshua, whether it will be with left handed jab or straight right hand, the fact is he chooses. It is well documented that Wlad literally toyed with Joshua during sparring and that is I believe is where this confidence comes from, along with the burning desire to prove all those wrong who have written off due to one bad performance i over a 10 year formidable reign as if fighters should never dare have a bad night.
How much mental strength did Wlad show in the Fury fight ? With all the physical attributes he had and a dominant career he couldn't find it within himself to grit his teeth and turn it into a dogfight the one time he had to. The guy was scared to death to engage; I guess a decade of beating up and smaller guys and operating firmly in a comfort zone will do that to you. I think once AJ starts putting it on him he could well just retreat into his shell again. Don't forget AJ doesn't know how to lose yet. Wlad has been bashed up a few times.
Wlad's betting that he'll be able to replicate how the sparring went and that he's got Joshua figured out. That's why he chased this match so aggressively even though AJ is considered the worst matchup of the division for him, and he's happy to go to AJ's back yard to do it. Marinate on that for a second. Nobody was forcing him to take this fight, or to go to England to do it. He sees something from firsthand experience with AJ that internet fans don't. AJ is betting that his own ascent, combined with Wlad's slipping since then, will produce a much more favorable outcome for him, Tyson-Holmes style. Don't let the old man get the rust off and settle in- catch him cold and knock the rust off for him. Going by history, more often than not, it's the young lion who should win. We'll see who's thesis is right.
