AJ's problem is he carries the hopes of UK boxing fans on his shoulders.

Yes, ive seen fighters make "an" excuse but Joshua has a wide range of excuses. I don't think hes mentally ready but we'll see. I just think that there is a fine line between making excuses...and then telling yourself that if xy and z were different, you would have won...it can be a fine line to walk sometimes, and as you said, a lot of it comes down to the mental makeup of the person, as to how they will recover in the future. As you said, we will see, I have no real predictions on the fight...never followed Joshua or Ruiz enough to know if the 1st fight was a fluke or not...I know AJ at least had him hurt early and if he could have finished the job, we would have had a different story...but maybe Ruiz is a bad matchup, maybe Ruiz is just better, maybe AJ is weak mentally and won't recover...interesting storylines for sure.

Idk...I think Rousey had very rarely ever been beat before, like even in sparring...seems like AJ has had more ups and downs than that...so should know how to handle it better...Rousey was fairly one dimensional as well, so once the 'fear' wore off and the gameplan to beat her was out there, she became a much easier opponent. I would also say that almost everyone has excuses after a loss...if you don't make excuses, then in a way, you are saying you have no shot to beat that person...saying 'if xyz was different, I would have won' is not really an excuse...but rather a way to tell yourself that the man who beat you is not better than you...he was just better than you on that night, and under different circumstances you could, and perhaps, should, win. Yes, ive seen fighters make "an" excuse but Joshua has a wide range of excuses. I don't think hes mentally ready but we'll see.

Fair enough, like I said I think it's the power that's missing a little, then he could get more opponents out early. It's not like he wasn't landing with both hands against Wilder all night. Nice shot selection, with combinations at times. He's definitely not a destructive fighter though, and at heavyweight more than any other class, I guess that's what people expect to see. I hear ya...for me it is less of the power thing...I really like Usyk's skill, and Loma's...and Lara is one of my favorites as well...was impressed with Floyd and his skills a lot. I just don't think Fury let his hands go enough in the Wilder and Wlad fights enough...that being said, he did start to open up more on Wilder over the last 6 rounds imo...maybe we will see more action from Fury going forward...and again he only allowed Wlad to land 52 punches on him...in 12 rounds! That's crazy...but he only landed 86 supposedly himself...and only apparently landed 84 on Wilder. I think he is really tricky and awkward and long...and will flummox almost anyone he boxes...I just need to see him let his hands go more to really feel like offensively he is as skilled as the top guys in other weight classes.

English boxers don't have the tough upbringing Mexicans and gypsies have. First sign of trouble and they sh4t themselves. There's only one Fury. https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/gif-tyson-fury-dance-giphy.gif WTF Fury's fragile psyche couldn't cope with being champ.

English boxers don't have the tough upbringing Mexicans and gypsies have. First sign of trouble and they sh4t themselves. There's only one Fury. https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/gif-tyson-fury-dance-giphy.gif

Oh I mean I am certainly impressed with him...he more or less neutralized Wilder their whole fight, and same with Wlad...that is very impressive. I guess I could say I think Fury has great defensive skills....but on offense he didn't do enough for me in those two fights to say he has great offensive skills...I certainly don't think he is a bum in that regard as well though...the last 6 rounds vs Wilder I thought he more or less put on a bit of boxing clinic Fair enough, like I said I think it's the power that's missing a little, then he could get more opponents out early. It's not like he wasn't landing with both hands against Wilder all night. Nice shot selection, with combinations at times. He's definitely not a destructive fighter though, and at heavyweight more than any other class, I guess that's what people expect to see.

He reminds me of Rhonda Rousey. Absolutely doesnt know how to handle a loss. Rousey disappeared , depression, and had a million excuses. AJ has had a million excuses from "lucky punch" to " I was focused on Wilder" and other BS he's been saying. Hes soft as hell You've got a point. A person's character shows through after a setback, especially if you've been touted as the second coming of JC. "Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan".

Fury does have nice technical skills. Switch hits with ease, fast hands, puts combinations together well, and is freakishly light footed and agile for someone of that weight. Watch him on the pads with Davison, it's very impressive for a guy that big. What he lacks is the big knockout punch at heavyweight, but he can still generate power when he gets his weight behind them. He had Wilder wobbled a couple of times. Oh I mean I am certainly impressed with him...he more or less neutralized Wilder their whole fight, and same with Wlad...that is very impressive. I guess I could say I think Fury has great defensive skills....but on offense he didn't do enough for me in those two fights to say he has great offensive skills...I certainly don't think he is a bum in that regard as well though...the last 6 rounds vs Wilder I thought he more or less put on a bit of boxing clinic

LMAO. No one is emotional here. You just sound like a passive hater who has never boxed a day in his life. And I wouldn't be shocked if you haven't because most of the idiots on here haven't. They just think boxing is an easy sport until they get punched in the mouth or have to hit a heavy bag for 2mins and they start grasping for air. Mid-range shooting is just an aspect of shooting. The best shooters earn their money beyond the arc, hence no one talks about MJ when it comes to the greatest shooters ever. Lebron James bulldozes his way and he has never had Kobe's flair, dribbling ability, ball handing and mid-range greatness. No one would deny how great Lebron is but his game will never be aesthetically pleasing as Kobe's. Kobe was a thing of beauty of watch and his ability to make tough shots when triple-teamed from any area on the court is unparalleled - albeit that's also his Achilles Tendon since it affected his efficiency. It also depends on how you define "overrated". If the yardstick for Kobe's greatness is Jordan - then you're right, he might be a tad overrated since his style was based on Jordan's. And the original will always be greater than the sequel. However, if it's based on achievement and skills-set - he's very underrated. Serena Williams being your type isn't the topic in discourse - it's about perfect athlete. Serena is the greatest female tennis player but she definitely has her flaws and her game isn't perfect. Justine Henin was more skilled, had better movement and her one-handed backhand was a thing of beauty to watch (Justine also had her flaws hence she's not as successful as Serena). And that's my point. I don't think anyone is calling Josh an ATG yet. For him to be an ATG - he has to beat two out of Wilder, Usyk and Fury. However, at this stage of his career - he's almost 70-80% an ATG. And if anyone has a chance to be an ATG amongst the current crop - AJ is leading the pack. Also, I don't think you understand the concept of comparative analysis in context. Your argument about AJ is that he's not perfect despite just being a pro for 6 years. Who amongst the names on this thread was an ATG in the sports they played after 6 years? And despite what they achieved - were they ever perfect? Well, AJ is a great inside fighter for a giant. No guy his size can beat him on the inside, hence he tries to get too complacent/pretty when fighting against short guys with short quick hands. And that's why he struggles against them. Don't just talk about a guy's weakness to slag him out when he has numerous strengths since the same can be done by every great athlete that has ever lived. You sound like a really big AJ fan and that's cool...he is a great boxer in a general sense for sure...where he ranks right now as far as ATGs go, I mean that is up to personal opinion...I think he has to be quite a bit more impressive to really get a lot of credit from me...the one time he really stepped out of his comfort zone and wasn't very protected, he was 'exposed'...and I just mean that in the sense that he had a bad night...which is easy to do when the cards are not stacked in your favor. I'm 205 and have for the past 7 years have done 1-2 boxing workouts per week...not that it really matters lol..but I've actually been honing my own personal boxing skills for a while now...I don't think you would even be in my weight class, but you are talking pretty big ;) jk just messing with ya man. And again a lot of your other comments are opinions that you are trying to present as facts...and also some of your comments appear to be all over the place and it's hard to really figure out what angle you're coming from or why. You seem really dedicated to AJ if not a bit disingenuous but most of us fans are when we support a guy...to be taken seriously as an analyst I would say it is best to step back a bit and leave your personal biases out of the equation as much as possible when addressing a topic....anyway, good chat, and have a great day my friend!

Tyson is the most skillful. Bht absent power against AJ with a goodish chin and who will catch up with him, it is not enough. 1 x pefect quality plus nothing else is not enough. AJ is balanced if not the best ever at one particular thing; maybe his work ethic and living the life. Not training and losing weight is a sign of a disciplined man. Hey I have no hate for AJ...seems like a good guy, and I usually overlook a lot of heavies, because they seem to not really train properly and have lackluster physiques...AJ obviously does not fall into that category. I wish him well and let the best man win.

He reminds me of Rhonda Rousey. Absolutely doesnt know how to handle a loss. Rousey disappeared , depression, and had a million excuses. AJ has had a million excuses from "lucky punch" to " I was focused on Wilder" and other BS he's been saying. Hes soft as hell Idk...I think Rousey had very rarely ever been beat before, like even in sparring...seems like AJ has had more ups and downs than that...so should know how to handle it better...Rousey was fairly one dimensional as well, so once the 'fear' wore off and the gameplan to beat her was out there, she became a much easier opponent. I would also say that almost everyone has excuses after a loss...if you don't make excuses, then in a way, you are saying you have no shot to beat that person...saying 'if xyz was different, I would have won' is not really an excuse...but rather a way to tell yourself that the man who beat you is not better than you...he was just better than you on that night, and under different circumstances you could, and perhaps, should, win.

I was commenting on his mental state rather than his physical attributes. I think he should just keep it simple. Whether it's true or not he should tell himself "... the fat man got lucky and I'm going to take back what's mine". Then have a closed camp and come out mean and hungry in December. Ah got ya... I agree my friend, good points

He reminds me of Rhonda Rousey. Absolutely doesnt know how to handle a loss. Rousey disappeared , depression, and had a million excuses. AJ has had a million excuses from "lucky punch" to " I was focused on Wilder" and other BS he's been saying. Hes soft as hell

The guy has been hurt 3 times prior to the Ruiz fight (against Dillian Whyte, Wlad and Povetkin) and he recovered well. How come you idiots only talk about the Ruiz fight and not the other 3 times when he recovered and won in style? You're just an idiotic hater and idiots like will only hold on to one thing to make a non-existent point. And the Ruiz fight was an outlier because you idiots won't know what happened before the fight until months from now. If you don't have fighting instinct - you'll never get to the top as a professional boxer. Boxers like Audley Harrison is a classic example of a boxer with no fighting instinct. AJ is a natural born fighter. Amazing! And people say you're not a genius. lol

that was definitely a gib issue for him, them and hearn talked to highly of this guy and were arrogant as hell about it

Also I've never really bought into the whole Fury being incredibly skilled thing...I do think he has some good skills, but I think more of it for him is he has a good boxing brain, and is very long and very awkward...I just never really saw anything particularly skillful when he faced Wlad. It was just two oafs dancing in a way...and then he never really completely dominated Wilder in their fight imo as some suggest...by dominate I want to see rounds where he lands 20 punches to 5 for Wilder...Fury was the better boxer that night, but I think his ability to avoid punches is better than his ability to land...which I what mostly consider skill...I think Ortiz is a bit more skilled at HW...Joshua was tagging Wlad more often and more effectively than Fury was as well in their fight. Fury does have nice technical skills. Switch hits with ease, fast hands, puts combinations together well, and is freakishly light footed and agile for someone of that weight. Watch him on the pads with Davison, it's very impressive for a guy that big. What he lacks is the big knockout punch at heavyweight, but he can still generate power when he gets his weight behind them. He had Wilder wobbled a couple of times.

I agree about his lack of boxing instinct, especially when he's hurt. Although he did get off the floor to beat Klitchko, he just fell apart when Ruiz hurt him. I agree atleast you actually have brain and know boxing unlike bangem who acts like ajs wife or something delusional little worm. Go and slurp some more aj juice you dimwit.

I am not fully sold on Fury's skill. But I see him beating Wilder again, I see AJ beating Ruiz and Fury; but Wilder is a 50:50. And I definately see Ruiz flattening Wilder. Complete fighters come around once in a lifetime. And rarer still in heavyweights. M Tyson had he had a better probation worker? Tyson was never, and could never, be a complete fighter. Everyone knowledgeable knows that. He could only fight coming forwards. Lewis and Holyfield were both far more complete than Tyson.

Lol...yep exactly...there are no perfect fighters, especially at HW as you said...I like AJ, seems like a good guy...hope he can redeem himself in some way...funny comment there about Tyson :)....when he was on he certainly looked unbeatable, special talent Tyson is the most skillful. Bht absent power against AJ with a goodish chin and who will catch up with him, it is not enough. 1 x pefect quality plus nothing else is not enough. AJ is balanced if not the best ever at one particular thing; maybe his work ethic and living the life. Not training and losing weight is a sign of a disciplined man.

This idiot is talking about lack of natural fighting instinct with a professional boxer that gets punched in the face for a living, lool. If it were that easy to get punched in the face and still maintain composure - every idiot out there would be a top boxer earning millions, lol. You don't start boxing at 18 and achieve what he has achieved without natural fighting instinct. I don't even think these idiots know what concussion is, lol. Being concussed is like being drunk to stupor. Who the hell knows what they're doing when they're drunk? For him to even weather that much rounds after being concussed showed how brave he's and he's a fighting man. It takes a lot of heart to out fighting on your feet and not on your knees. Any weak hearted boxer would've given up after the 3rd. But he kept fighting. Most posters on this board have extremely low IQ and they have never been in a fight in their miserable lives. This is just as ridiculous as those who think Yarde got knocked out by a jab, lol. All fighters get hit and hurt at some time. Some fighters handle being hurt better than others. It's too bad you don't know that and you're actually calling people idiots.