Joshua is too strong a fighter mentally to let Fury get to him, and pre-fight mind games won't work. You can tell from his comments, and that of Warren, Arum that they are trying to chip away at his confidence but I actually think it might backfire somewhat and take all the pressure off Joshua. Regardless Fury will have to "convince" Joshua to lose in the ring, and I think he has his hands full.
People will focus on that he quit against Ruiz, etc etc but I would focus on the way he picked himself up went back to the drawing board and shut Ruiz out in the rematch. Also the way he picked himself up off the floor against Klitschko. I also think Joshua has learned a lot about himself in those fights and about his own weaknesses, I see a lot posters mistaking a more measured approach to "hesitancy".
Joshua has learned that he doesn't have the chin to trade with certain fighters and he needs to pick his spots, he has also learned to pace himself and his own gas tank.
I genuinely think Fury has his hands full, and I think he knows it as well. Fury is a fantastic fighter, the better fighter in fact, if they went through a gauntlet of top heavyweight opponents Fury would do better, but stylistically Joshua is tough for him, I don't understand people here who think Josh is made for Fury, just because Fury says he is. Joshua has a good jab, is dangerous with both hands, and can fight well at all ranges, front foot /back foot.
Fury is faster with his jab, has a better chin, stamina, and defence. My prediction is Fury by stoppage between 8-11 but I think he'll have to earn it, and might have to get off the floor to do it.
The bigger issue is ring IQ.
I don't see Joshua adapting if things start going wrong for him, whereas Fury has shown that he can switch things up if needed.
McCraken will have a good game plan for Joshua, but we'll see what happens when Joshua is getting peppered with the jab from all angles, he's never seen anything like the Gypsy King.
I stopped reading when you said Joshua is too strong of a fighter mentally.
The same Joshua, who not only has a sports psychiatrist as a regular on his team, but also was forty minutes late for the Ruiz fight because he had a panic attack in his locker room.
I think if you have AJ in one hand and Fury in the other - considering the issues Fury has had, AJ is the mentally more stable. Fury is probably the more confident.
I stopped reading when you said Joshua is too strong of a fighter mentally.
The same Joshua, who not only has a sports psychiatrist as a regular on his team, but also was forty minutes late for the Ruiz fight because he had a panic attack in his locker room.
All you need to do is turn off social media to reduce it down to its minimum.
The only opportunity that Fury will have will be via joint interviews and Joshua has been pretty cool in most of his interviews.
What I'd like to see is Joshua going to the extreme and turning it on its head.
I think in his heart, Tyson knows he is better than AJ in the departments that matter, in this fight. He can beat AJ a number of ways. He can make the fight easy or hard for himself. It is his fight to lose. If Tyson is on form and firing on all cylinders, he makes AJ look like a bum. He has openly said that for years. But, expect him to start bigging AJ up as soon as the fight is signed and sealed. It makes his win look better that way.
The first sentence, "AJ is too strong mentally", lost me. He has shown mental frailty many times. He has mental strength, but he has also appeared rattled and Andy Ruiz Jr., or the occasion of fighting in America, did knock him off mentally. There's no denying it. Has AJ ever been anything but the favourite in a fight?
As far as Tyson Fury goes, it is clear to see he got in Eddie Hearn's head with the "tick tock tick tock" comments regarding the deadline to find sites to host the fight. These people who have media-friendly persona's and squeaky clean images are easy for Fury to wind up. Trying to deny it just makes it easier, it is a sign it is already working. As soon as AJ says "Fury's mind games aren't/won't work on me, he is already in his head.
When Fury is going on one at press conferences and in the media, who do you think will be the one trying to rebut what he is saying? AJ? Or Hearn? If it is Hearn, that is a bad look for AJ. Can he not speak for himself? Thought you said he is too mentally strong? Haha!