How Much Legacy is on the line for Joshua?

You've got to wonder: Where have all the staunch Anthony Joshua supporters run off to?? He did some good work the other night, and if he wanted to fill his pockets, there are still plenty of good wins left in him. I still want to see him matched against Wilder and Fury. Still huge events. Usyk sneaked by him.... So what? Jimmy Young sneaked past a prime George Foreman back in 77'. Styles make fights. If I were Hearn I'd angle for Fury first after Fury does the long stick number on Usyk, because IMO Joshua has a better shot at mustering a career defining out-hustle of Fury than he has avoiding the bombs that the unorthodox Wilder is sure to drop on him.

- - Flubber been ducking top fighters since he ducked the Wlad match while on drug suspension. Without MTK/Arum backing, he melts like the candy of Deyonce. Josh & Usyk 1A and 1B and in time after all the BS idiots manage to do themselves in, they'll be up there in the Pantheon of Great fights. Fury fought three historic battles with the number two in the world, and both in their respective primes, their trilogy is this generation's Ali - Frazier. Instead of stumbling against the lower top 12, they stepped up and made history. Credit where credit is due. Either guy would smoke Holyfield or Bowe and beat the Vinnitsa off of the Klitschko brothers. I'm waiting to see how effortlessly Fury knocks out the Icelandic "Mountain" with the swing of one of those love handles. As for Usyk, he seems to be settling into his 1970s sized heavyweight body, and twice exposed the myth of Joshua, almost sadly; but other than his having A.J.s number, we're still waiting for him to move beyond the Chazz Witherspoon/Derrick Chisora level, and we'll find out what he's got. Truth is, Klitschko, Wilder and Joshua made a collective boatload of title defences against the best the world had to offer; and Fury has proven himself to be better than all three. And that's the long & short of it.

Lol. You may have a point there. And I thought that maybe I was being a bit too hard on the guy! Anyway, ya; Joshua's still among the best of his generation- Why not? 1. Fury 2. Wilder 3. Usyk 4. Ruiz Jr. 5. Joshua 6. Ortiz 7. Joyce 8. Povetkin 9. Whyte 10. .....and so on. Something like that. Let's don't slag him too badly. He works hard. - - Flubber been ducking top fighters since he ducked the Wlad match while on drug suspension. Without MTK/Arum backing, he melts like the candy of Deyonce. Josh & Usyk 1A and 1B and in time after all the BS idiots manage to do themselves in, they'll be up there in the Pantheon of Great fights.

“One of the best HW of this generation” :lol1: What are you smoking mate? Stupid comments like that are what brought out the reaction post fight from him lastnight. It was embarrassing - I like Eddie but AJ’s promoter and his team need to manage expectations. Toxic positivity is a real thing and the pressure it creates is immense. He cracked under that pressure post-fight as the weight of expectation crushed him (because he’s constantly told he is one of the best of this generation and probably believes it himself.) In reality, he was up against a much better boxer who battered him last time out. His team should’ve fully prepared him for the possibility of losing to a better man; this doesn’t mean you can’t train and go into a fight trying to win. He has a team of delusional YES men, Rob McCracken was the fall guy last time. He has run out of people to blame Lol. You may have a point there. And I thought that maybe I was being a bit too hard on the guy! Anyway, ya; Joshua's still among the best of his generation- Why not? 1. Fury 2. Wilder 3. Usyk 4. Ruiz Jr. 5. Joshua 6. Ortiz 7. Joyce 8. Povetkin 9. Whyte 10. .....and so on. Something like that. Let's don't slag him too badly. He works hard.

Is Anthony Joshua one of the best heavyweights of his generation? YES. looking over his record, unification of most of the belts, Whyte, Martin, Klitschko (though a swansong version), Parker, Takam, Ruiz (though a redemptive rematch), etc. He's accomplished allot. But is he in the same class with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder???? ....not if he fails to shine tonight. No way. The other two have never been tarnished like that. Not even against each other. For Anthony Joshua and greatness, the moment of truth has arrived. “One of the best HW of this generation” :lol1: What are you smoking mate? Stupid comments like that are what brought out the reaction post fight from him lastnight. It was embarrassing - I like Eddie but AJ’s promoter and his team need to manage expectations. Toxic positivity is a real thing and the pressure it creates is immense. He cracked under that pressure post-fight as the weight of expectation crushed him (because he’s constantly told he is one of the best of this generation and probably believes it himself.) In reality, he was up against a much better boxer who battered him last time out. His team should’ve fully prepared him for the possibility of losing to a better man; this doesn’t mean you can’t train and go into a fight trying to win. He has a team of delusional YES men, Rob McCracken was the fall guy last time. He has run out of people to blame

P.S. The only reason Ruiz is a title claimant and Ortiz isn't is because Ortiz chose the better champion to challenge....which is pretty obvious at this point in the reveal.

Ruiz was the former unified champion,Ortiz isn’t in those talks of achievements not close . There seems to be a lot of frightened posters on here should A.J win if he does as he should he’ll be holding 5 belts this time when he collects the ring magazine as well and these loons will say he’s not above Wilder or a proven fighter . We know how it’s going to go and the OP is very predictable he cleverly takes away where he wants while putting up an image of being unbiased, remember it’s the same poster who added an extra fighter to Wilder in his crazy numbers rankings to get him past A.J as the better fighter . :lol1: Well if I update my list of class 3+ fighers faced by Wilder and Joshua, then Joshua picks up another one after last night to have now faced just as many as Wilder has. Alas, it was another loss for Joshua, so he gets more points deduced. Thereby widening the gap further between Wilder & Joshua's career accomplishments against class 3+ opponents. Sorry buddy, but BOTH Fury and Deontay Wilder have passed your boy by. Neither Tyson Fury OR Deontay Wilder have ever gone 1 and 3 against guys like Ruiz and Usyk. But of course....it ain't over yet for any of them. So don't give up hope just yet.

I guess that today, we have our answer. Or at least, another piece of the answer. Joshua is still in his prime, after all. Is Anthony Joshua one of the best heavyweights of his generation? YES. But is he in the same class with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder???? NO. Fury is two notches above him, and Wilder one notch above. That's no longer up for discussion. Notwithstanding, when a fighter decides to choose Boxing over MMA & Kickboxing, and test himself for the multi-millions instead of settling for the hundreds of thousands, and dives strait into the larger, older & more internationally recognized talent pool of competition; he is making a statement that he will not settle for the lower goal. And If he wins world titles there; he is a fighter above all other fighters; and that is precisely what Anthony Joshua did. Respect. Wilder versus Joshua, anyone??

It's all about the overall career and what happens in the future. Beating Usyk would be a great win imo amd Joshua could go on to have an amazing legacy if he were to then beat Fury and/or become undisputed. Conversely beating Usyk would seem less significant if Joshua goes on to lose to another Ruiz type. Especially if Usyk doesn't go on to do much at heavyweight. Likewise a loss also might not effect his legacy too badly if Joshua gets some other good wins and Usyk goes on to become undisputed at heavyweight as well.

Is Anthony Joshua one of the best heavyweights of his generation? YES. looking over his record, unification of most of the belts, Whyte, Martin, Klitschko (though a swansong version), Parker, Takam, Ruiz (though a redemptive rematch), etc. He's accomplished allot. But is he in the same class with Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder???? ....not if he fails to shine tonight. No way. The other two have never been tarnished like that. Not even against each other. For Anthony Joshua and greatness, the moment of truth has arrived.

Hm, based on what? Joshua is very basic, I can easily see Wilder knock him out. Basic > Sloppy Not saying Wilder couldn't KO AJ, just saying AJ could outbox Wilder if he needed too. If AJ catches Wilder, it could be over for him as well. Let's agree he hits much harder than Fury. Wilder being the ''best'' of the rest :dunno:

Joe Frazier went 1-4 vs Ali and Foreman Norton 1-3 They managed to have a legacy of sorts. Even if AJ gets blown out, it's still a single loss. AJ should be able to wipe out everyone else. Hm, based on what? Joshua is very basic, I can easily see Wilder knock him out.

Fury's generational wealth is on the line. See how the AJ situation has him acting. Imagine some fanboy favorite Eastern European just based on his name bc if he was named Campbell or Taylor no one would care standing in the way of a $300 million deposit in your bank accounts.

Beating a career cruiserweight who hasn't defended his heavyweight belts yet is the best heavyweight win in 20 years? In what world? Beating a Olympic Champion, Former Undisputed Cruiser weight world Champion, Undefeated, and currant WBA, WBO, IBF & IBO Heavyweight Champion of the the world 'At the peak of his powers'. It will be the greatest Heavyweight win of the past 20 years. Kiltschko had been beaten numerous times before when Fury beat him, Mike Tyson was way outside of his peak when Lewis finally got to him and? He was kind of drugged up and out of condition for that fight. The greatest wins of the past 20 years in the heavyweight division are, in not particular order. Lennox Lewis vs David Tua 'Complete and utter domination'. Lennox Lewis vs Vitali Kiltschko 'Understand the circumstances it was a great win for Lewis. He was out of condition, and still found a way to win. Nobody for the rest of Kiltschko's career would ever beat him up like Lewis did etc'. Tyson Fury vs Deontay Wilder II. Wladimir Kiltschko vs David Haye. Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Kiltschko 'It was the greatest Heavyweight title bout of the past 20 years, you would have to go back to Bowe vs Holyfield I to witness another fight comparable'. Lennox Lewis vs Mike Tyson 'Regardless of where Mike Tyson was at. This was still a great win. Even a out of condition Mike Tyson, was still in good condition compared to most heavyweights active today. Lewis stood up to Mike Tyson outside the ring, and he also fought a great fight inside the ring 'Really bombarded Mike Tyson, who fought hard until the end like a Gladiator'. Tyson Fury vs Wladimir Kiltschko 'It was a underwhelming fight, but Fury got the job done. And his life and people's perceptions of him have never been the same since that fight. It was his mount Everest, and no win will ever have the same catalytic effect 'He broke the dominance of the Kiltschko's'. David Haye vs Nikolai Valuev 'Haye was being out weighed by 8 stone. This was David Haye's second fight at Heavyweight. He out boxed Valuev, and astonishing, hurt him real bad in the fight 'Solidifying his punching power;. Note: Usyk is a undefeated fighter, a unprecedented talent and at the peak of his powers. That is what sets him apart as a challenge to all those other fighters mentioned up above. Anthony Joshua, is attempting to do something that has never been done before 'All Usyk has ever done is win, Joshua now has to change all of that'. It will be the greatest Heavyweight win of the past 20 years.

Beating a career cruiserweight who hasn't defended his heavyweight belts yet is the best heavyweight win in 20 years? In what world? - - Usyk bigger, stronger, and more credentialed than Ali at the weight on the timeline comparison...just da facts, ma'am, just da facts...

Ruiz f--cked his mind up. All the commercial BS will muddy the craic, Hearn will talk him up for decades after his retirement to furnish his own reputation.

If Anthony Joshua beats Usyk, it is the greatest heavyweight win of the past 20 years. You do understand that Joshua would of beaten every single fighter he has stepped inside the ring with? Olympic Champion, and two time Heavyweight Champion. People can mock Joshua all they want, but he is maximizing his talents. In fact he is going beyond his talents. For a fighter who started boxing late, none of Joshua's achievements are normal. Tyson Fury in comparison has not maximized his talent, and has just retired after beating a fighter Joshua beat a long time ago. The fact of the matter is, Tyson Fury is retired. Wilder has no idea what he is doing, and here we have Anthony Joshua. Taking on a unprecedented talent in Usyk, and if he wins? It is the greatest Heavyweight win of the past 20 years. Joshua's legacy for me is a fighter who has maximized his talent, and has been willing to take on all comers as a Champion. He has been the only Champion of late, who was willing to take on all comers 'He has been a better Heavyweight Champion than Tyson Fury'. I also actually rate Deontay Wilder as a greater Champion than Tyson Fury, Wilder actually made multiple defenses 'And his wins over Ortiz are underrated'. Beating a career cruiserweight who hasn't defended his heavyweight belts yet is the best heavyweight win in 20 years? In what world?

He's been knocked out, and outboxed in his prime so his legacy won't be that great if you want to call it a legacy. As long as Wilder can bang out a few Contenders before retirement without taking a loss then he will rank higher than AJ all time. AJ doesn't ever approach Fury in terms of legacy/greatness unless Fury has a terrible fall from grace like losing to Chisora then Whyte back to back.

It's not make or break. Even if Joshua loses he's still a huge star in the UK and will get title shots and sell out arenas

Joe Frazier went 1-4 vs Ali and Foreman Norton 1-3 They managed to have a legacy of sorts. Even if AJ gets blown out, it's still a single loss. AJ should be able to wipe out everyone else.