Comments Thread For: Joshua Could Be Done At World Level If He Loses To Franklin, Says Hearn

[Monty Fisto]

Even though he lost, the second Usyk fight was the best I've seen Joshua fight ever.

I wouldn't go quite that far, but he did box well in that fight. Would have been interesting to see how he might have fared if he'd stuck with Garcia a bit longer. He looked in excellent shape, was competitive for the whole fight, and caused Usyk all sorts of trouble in the 9th.

Usyk produced an elite response in the 10th and saw him off. It was a great performance in that 10th round. Coming straight after what happened in the 9th, it was pure champion stuff. Usyk was the rightful winner, but in judging how Joshua fought we can't just adopt a binary approach and say loss = bad fight. He fought well, as you say.

[SteveM]

In retrospect, I can agree with you that Joshua fought the most technical fight of his career vs Usyk II. but as far as Oleksandr being able to beat Fury, I'm afraid we must disagree,my friend. Not no, but hellll no!

I wonder how the bookies will open the book with Usyk-Fury - Im guessing Fury-200 Usyk +300 - that means they'd give him some chance - I reckon its a 65/35 fight - I reckon Usyk will get inside of Fury and land some - whether he can do any damage is another matter.

[SUBZER0ED]

I wonder how the bookies will open the book with Usyk-Fury - Im guessing Fury-200 Usyk +300 - that means they'd give him some chance - I reckon its a 65/35 fight - I reckon Usyk will get inside of Fury and land some - whether he can do any damage is another matter.

If Usyk does manage to get inside, Fury will lean that giant 6'9", 270+lbs frame on him, exhausting Oleksandr's core and leg muscles. he'd be smarter to try to stick and move, but Tyson is a skilled big man with good hand speed and accuracy. He's just too much for Usyk and pretty much anyone out there up to this point..

[SteveM]

If Usyk does manage to get inside, Fury will lean that giant 6'9", 270+lbs frame on him, exhausting Oleksandr's core and leg muscles. he'd be smarter to try to stick and move, but Tyson is a skilled big man with good hand speed and accuracy. He's just too much for Usyk and pretty much anyone out there up to this point..

I'm not sure he'll tie up with Fury but you could well be right - but I'd take Usyk to be a better boxer, more dangerous and a better finisher than Cunningham - there's a small chance

[Rebelrbg]

I think he's done regardless. I mean if he beats Franklin does it mean he's back? I don't think so.

I don't know, Derrick James is a helluva trainer, and with new stablemates in Spence, Jermell Charlo, and Frank Martin, he could really be pushed to his natural talent level, and worked with like a peer, rather than like a god. James has brought out the best in all of these guys, there's no reason it can't go well with AJ, who does possess skill and power, but lacks confidence, aggression, and stamina.

[SUBZER0ED]

I'm not sure he'll tie up with Fury but you could well be right - but I'd take Usyk to be a better boxer, more dangerous and a better finisher than Cunningham - there's a small chance

Oh don't get me wrong, Usyk won't WANT to tie up with Fury. But if he gets the better of the exchanges in close, you can bet that Tyson will grab him and lean all of his weight on him, then he'll rip some close quarter punches to further wear Oleksandr down. But he won't fight in close, he'll likely try to find the perfect mid-range, where he can land and quickly get out of the way. That won't be easy either, with Fury's freakishly long arms to contend with.

[_Rexy_]

We've all seen athletes cry after a loss in a game that meant everything to them. It didn't mean the end of them though. I think it's a similar case with Joshua. Usyk came closer to dropping him in the first fight, yet AJ fought better and harder in the second fight, albeit to come up short on the score cards. I believe his crying was more about disappointment than his actual confidence being destroyed. We will see.

Joshua didn’t cry after a loss. He had an Oliver McCall moment.

[hugh grant]

Yeh, so what if Franklin beats josh. I still want to know if fury and wilder can!

[SUBZER0ED]

Joshua didn’t cry after a loss. He had an Oliver McCall moment.

Nonsense. McCall broke down during the fight.

[_Rexy_]

Nonsense. McCall broke down during the fight.

AJ broke down immediately after. To say he just "cried after a loss" is doing a major disservice to the truth.