Joshua is still 5 to 6 fights away from his prime.

Yep this is exactly correct, and yes that is why those fans want the fight NOW. That is why everybody anti-Joshua wants those big fights now. Joshua and Hearn have brought this on themselves to a certain extent though, I knew when he took the Martin fight, the problem wouldn't be beating Martin, it would be the expectations on him after that happened. In terms of Wilder - I have been saying the same thing since the beginning of the year, I don't think they should take it until Joshua has had 2 or 3 more fights, and training camps. He needs to iron out some of his defensive flaws. This is one of the reason I have been picking Wilder, Joshua is not ready for this fight and he isn’t at his peak yet, Wilder is ready and in his prime right now. Wilders team took time to groom him, they didn’t make too much noise when he was coming up, David Haye, Wlad, Chagaev are just a few names that Wilder could have fought but he was brought on at a steady pace. Joshua had to be move quickly because he was destroying everyone too quickly and his championship belt win from Martin made it even worse for him. If he beats Wilder when he isn’t at his peak yet then I would give him massive praise.

Let's see how he comes on the next fight. He really didn't show me improvements in the last two and I still think he's better version was in the Breazeale and Martin fights. Now, it's arbitrary to say a fighter only step on the prime after X fights. Lomachenko has been mentioned, Inoue was in prime before 10 fights, can be argued that Usyk is on prime. It's more about facing a variety of styles and learning from the weakness they expose

Prime isn't a science. Josh may take a battering in next fight and never be the same again. But I agree Josh will improve for next 6 years or so. He can go onto be one of the best ever.

I agree, with when HW's normally peak and the lack of rounds and experience for Joshua, I think he's still a few years away from hitting his prime. However, THAT is no excuse to avoid any fights. When you've gone for belts and become the champ you have to be willing to take on the challenges that come with it. I believe we will see peak Joshua between 2020 and 2025

Don't know why people keep bringing in Loma. He is the exception, dude had over 400 amatur fights. 99.9% of heavyweights are not in their prime at 19 fights. Don't know why that's hard to understand. Tyson Lewis ALI/wlad/vitali/foreman/frazier/liston/louis/ never hit their primes at 19 fights. So Joshua freakishly is the FIRST HW in history to hit his prime at 19 fights ?? That's bizarre. I didn't bring up Lomachenko but he's an example of the flaw in your assessment. My issue is you're basing "prime" on the amount of fights Joshua has. You're telling me a young Mike Tyson mowing down opponents one after the other was not in prime shape as when he started going the distance in his 20th and 21st fights. If your argument is we're not sure how good Joshua is yet I would buy it but to say he's not in prime shape (physically and mentally) now makes no sense. His fights will get tougher. His body will break down more every single day from now on. The answer is we don't know. And 5 or 6 fights sound like an arbitrary number you came up with.

Maybe but the moment you become a world champion you have to fight the best. AJ is selling out stadiums. Whilst Wilder's career went at a snails pace early they have both reached the top table at the same time. With fractured world titles sometimes fighters get away with not fighting the best but with AJ potentially having 3 titles it would be unacceptable for him to avoid Wilder. I do get a bit dubious about some of the very young world title holders though. Like Benavidez at 168. He's only 21, but he has a recognised world title with a division full of pretty decent operators. He can't really drop a level of competition now but if you handled him I think you'd be cautious. Reminds me of Canelo fighting Matt Hatton and Ryan Rhodes. A lot of fighters must have been scratching their heads at those defences

Man stop trying to bring logic into this conversation. The only measure of prime is the amount of fight a boxer has been in. It has nothing to do with age or physical peak. At least according to this guy. Don't know why people keep bringing in Loma. He is the exception, dude had over 400 amatur fights. 99.9% of heavyweights are not in their prime at 19 fights. Don't know why that's hard to understand. Tyson Lewis ALI/wlad/vitali/foreman/frazier/liston/louis/ never hit their primes at 19 fights. So Joshua freakishly is the FIRST HW in history to hit his prime at 19 fights ?? That's bizarre.

Once again with this logic lomachenko won’t reach his prime till another 4 years. Man stop trying to bring logic into this conversation. The only measure of prime is the amount of fight a boxer has been in. It has nothing to do with age or physical peak. At least according to this guy.

OK first off - Joshua hasn't been avoiding that fight, I think everyone can agree on that. The first negotiations happened before Christmas and you sensed with how quickly both teams moved on to other fights that they both felt it was premature, Wilder's 50/50 demand was silly, and Hearn was not much interested at that time in continuing. As far as the bold - can both things not be true? Can he not be the best currently, but still reluctant to fight a certain fighter or style. To be honest I am not sure if Wilder is his biggest threat, I am not even sure if Joshua is the best. What I do know is - Joshua's defence is improving but still leaky, and that is a recipe for disaster against someone like Wilder. I don't think its a fight that he can't win, I would actually still have my money on Joshua, his shorter crisper punches are more likely to land first, but I would still have it as a 50/50 maybe 60-40. I think given a scope and time to improve Joshua's chances only go up and Wilder's chances get worse, which is exactly why Wilder's team want the fight asap and why Joshua's people would rather wait. If you take posturing and fronting from both sides (fans included) out of the equation this is the reality of the situation in a nutshell. AJ is avoiding the fight. Saying otherwise is BS. He first said he wants to put himself in the best position to beat Wilder. Then, he suddenly began to say that if Wilder is reasonable, come on. Secondly, the meeting in November had an action item for Eddie to provide rough P&L estimates for UK and Vegas, which he did not provide. Shelly Finkle exposed him. There was no 50/50 negotiations or discussion at all - the timeline shows the BS about that.

Who has a proven track record of stepping up consistently and who has been fighting bums for 39 straight fights? :lol1: Both or neither. Unless you are still drinking the BS koolaid. If fighting Charles Martin is a step up, then I don't know what else to tell you. Anyone would have fought a guy who won his belt by the retirement of an injured opponent. So, don't make it sound like a huge achievement. We all know how AJ got his belt. Further, Wilder offered to fight Charles for his belt but did not have the money to pay him like AJ's uncle, Eddie. Charles would have been stupid to turn that amount down. So, he did what he should and went to lay down in UK. Further, AJ who according to you always steps up, avoided Luis Ortiz like a plague, paid him off and had Eddie sign him up so that they could avoid him. Instead, they fought a fallen legend in Wlad who was 41+, almost 2 years out of his last fight and was already embarrassed by a Fury who hardly threw a punch. These are what you call stepping up. Lol... I honestly don't know how you guys sleep at night with the lack of objectivity and a sincere assessment of how AJ got his belts. If AJ had fought Ortiz like he should have and beat him, and then beat Wlad, I will agree with the stepping up. But, he did not. You better hope your boy wins on 03/31. Then, let's see him step up to Wilder.

so you don't think the guy with the biggst bullseye on his back, who does take shots, and who fights in a division of giants where everybody can hurt you, won't start detiorating for another 15 fights :lol1:? jesus christ you guys are soft in the head. joshua's probably not even taking 15 more fights. he's going to be in a new tax bracket in a year or two once he beats wilder and fights in las vegas.

Big Tall Heavyweights reach their Prime in their 30's. 30-35 Years range is the best years of the most HW's.

It's true that AJ is yet to peak and should be stronger with a few more elite level wins. I think he'd fight Wilder tomorrow however if he gets the deal he wants. If that fight goes his way it could raise his already high status into the stratosphere. Which is why I think Wilder is the one that will have to compromise. If Joshua beats Parker then on April 1st Wilder, Finkel et al have a choice to make. They can make the fight on Eddie Hearn and Anthony Joshua's terms, which will involve a smaller share than they'd like, or they can refuse and go to the media claiming that AJ is ducking Deontay. If they take the second option Hearn will move ahead with: Povetkin mandatory defence of WBA - huge European fight Big Baby Miller - AJ's first appearance in the US, chance to build his profile there and links with US networks, sponsors and venues Domestic cash in money spinner option, should Haye beat Bellew convincingly this would make big money in UK, whatever the reality of Haye's current status. Or Whyte 2 if Wilder chooses Brezeale for his defence. Insert WBO/IBF next contender mandatory - Pulev? By which time Tyson Fury may be a player once more... AJ makes massive amounts on all those fights and he keeps on adding sponsors and building his brand. Wilder can show up at each event and each time be given a copy of the contract Eddie Hearn has drafted for him. They can say, the money and belts are on the table, all Wilder has to do is sign. Deontay Wilder will be 33 in October. He makes perhaps 20% at best per fight than AJ takes. The top heavyweights in the division want to fight AJ over him. He has a decision to make.

Once again with this logic lomachenko won’t reach his prime till another 4 years.

OK first off - Joshua hasn't been avoiding that fight, I think everyone can agree on that. The first negotiations happened before Christmas and you sensed with how quickly both teams moved on to other fights that they both felt it was premature, Wilder's 50/50 demand was silly, and Hearn was not much interested at that time in continuing. As far as the bold - can both things not be true? Can he not be the best currently, but still reluctant to fight a certain fighter or style. To be honest I am not sure if Wilder is his biggest threat, I am not even sure if Joshua is the best. What I do know is - Joshua's defence is improving but still leaky, and that is a recipe for disaster against someone like Wilder. I don't think its a fight that he can't win, I would actually still have my money on Joshua, his shorter crisper punches are more likely to land first, but I would still have it as a 50/50 maybe 60-40. I think given a scope and time to improve Joshua's chances only go up and Wilder's chances get worse, which is exactly why Wilder's team want the fight asap and why Joshua's people would rather wait. If you take posturing and fronting from both sides (fans included) out of the equation this is the reality of the situation in a nutshell. AJ is a fighter and would fight anyone but Hearn is delaying as long as possible because it’s AJ riskiest fight No both can’t be true you can collect potentially 3/4 of all the belts and be most peoples #1 and at the same timeclaim that you need more time F.uck that Your right it could go either way and AJ probably Could still improve ( moving his head ) but both are undeafted and the time for the fight is now like within the next year not when AJ has the best chance to win That’s such a cowardly view to have as a fan

his prime is going to be very short. guys on that much juice/that much bulk fall to pieces with no warning. seen it a hundred times.

I really love your confidence. They are not taking the fight next. There will be 1 more fight before. I only wished AJ was half as confident as you are. I don't see anyway AJ beats Wilder. You will have enough time though to prepare your excuses. Won't it be very sad for all the talk to have a "talentless" Wilder beat up AJ? Worse still if Parker beats him first. Better say your prayers... Who has a proven track record of stepping up consistently and who has been fighting bums for 39 straight fights? :lol1:

Joshua also said that he knows he will most likely lose at some stage in his career and it will be all about how he recovers from it. Like the great heavyweights had to recover from losses

You say 2-3 fights so another 1 1/2 - 2 years the TS said 5-6 fights so 2 1/2 - 3 years It just comes across as p. Ussy. Never have I seen a fan base claim that their guy is the best while so scared sh. Itless of fighting his biggest threat The man might have 3/4 of the belts in a couple weeks with in the next year it should be go time no excuses if he wasn’t up for the task he shouldn’t have overpaid Martin for his strap if he still need seasoning Who f.ucking cares if AJ loses or if Wilder loses its a sport and entertainment its not serious. But all the excuses why this fight shouldn’t happen from AJ fans is straight b.itch made OK first off - Joshua hasn't been avoiding that fight, I think everyone can agree on that. The first negotiations happened before Christmas and you sensed with how quickly both teams moved on to other fights that they both felt it was premature, Wilder's 50/50 demand was silly, and Hearn was not much interested at that time in continuing. As far as the bold - can both things not be true? Can he not be the best currently, but still reluctant to fight a certain fighter or style. To be honest I am not sure if Wilder is his biggest threat, I am not even sure if Joshua is the best. What I do know is - Joshua's defence is improving but still leaky, and that is a recipe for disaster against someone like Wilder. I don't think its a fight that he can't win, I would actually still have my money on Joshua, his shorter crisper punches are more likely to land first, but I would still have it as a 50/50 maybe 60-40. I think given a scope and time to improve Joshua's chances only go up and Wilder's chances get worse, which is exactly why Wilder's team want the fight asap and why Joshua's people would rather wait. If you take posturing and fronting from both sides (fans included) out of the equation this is the reality of the situation in a nutshell.

Who f.ucking cares if AJ loses or if Wilder loses its a sport and entertainment its not serious. But all the excuses why this fight shouldn’t happen from AJ fans is straight b.itch made Exactly. On one of AJ's recent interviews, he described his fear of losing and the potential impact on him This is part of the problem. Wilder does not seem to have any fear of losing. That confidence is the key differentiator between both of them when push comes to shove. I think AJ genuinely respects Wilder and would gladly prefer to have more time. But, Eddie has written a check his client's ass cannot cash. AJ will be the bigger, more technical guy, crowd favorite, betting favorite and will still get whooped. No wonder they don't want to fight Wilder. Wilder seems like everything that should not be in boxing but will whoop the so called everything in boxing. It really will be embarrassing.