KO Count 5-1: AJ & Fury fought 6 of the same opponents. AJ KOd 5, while Fury KOd 1. Does that cement AJ as the #1 Brit heavyweight of the ending era?

[FlatLine]

aj_vs_fury_final_with_ko_count_compressed.jpg

AJ

1. Dillian Whyte (2015) — KO WIN
2. Kevin Johnson (2015) — KO WIN
3. Wladimir Klitschko (2017) — KO WIN
4. Oleksandr Usyk (2021) — LOSS (Decision)
5. Otto Wallin (2023) — KO WIN
6. Francis Ngannou (2024) — KO WIN

Fury

1. Kevin Johnson (2012) — DECISION WIN
2. Wladimir Klitschko (2015) — DECISION WIN
3. Otto Wallin (2019) — DECISION WIN
4. Dillian Whyte (2022) — KO WIN
5. Francis Ngannou (2023) — DECISION WIN (Controversial)
6. Oleksandr Usyk (2024) — LOSS (Decision)

Based on their actual resumes, taking style or personality favoritism, or fanboyism, out of the equation, is it fair to conclude that Anthony Joshua has proven himself, on the record, as the best British heavyweight of the previous era, when comparing shared opponents with Tyson Fury? This stretches back to a time before Usyk entered the scene and AJ, Fury and Wilder were seen as the top 3 heavyweights in the world. Since AJ and Fury never fought each other, especially in their prime, it's now a case of relying on their boxing records to get the definitive answer as to who was the top dog. Are the KO count results fairly inarguable that AJ outperformed Fury at nearly every given opportunity?

[Rockybigblower]

......no.....

[NihonJim]

No

Fury is probably STILL the second best heavyweight in the division if we are being honest, and his physical prime is years behind him by now due to his own poor lifestyle.

Furys legs are gone, his punch resistance is gone, his stamina is going, he's carrying 20lbs of loose skin round his waist that he should get surgically removed but his boxing brain puts him STILL as number 2 imo.

He's the only heavyweight that has been able to win back to back rounds vs Usyk, walk him into traps repeatedly and make Usyk have to think really hard.

Joshua has no boxing brain by comparrison, he's a physical specimen but that took him as far as it's possible to go.

It's a real shame Fury isn't a professional athlete but that's just who he is.

[FlatLine]

No

Fury is probably STILL the second best heavyweight in the division if we are being honest, and his physical prime is years behind him by now due to his own poor lifestyle.

Furys legs are gone, his punch resistance is gone, his stamina is going, he's carrying 20lbs of loose skin round his waist that he should get surgically removed but his boxing brain puts him STILL as number 2 imo.

He's the only heavyweight that has been able to win back to back rounds vs Usyk, walk him into traps repeatedly and make Usyk have to think really hard.

Joshua has no boxing brain by comparrison, he's a physical specimen but that took him as far as it's possible to go.

It's a real shame Fury isn't a professional athlete but that's just who he is.

It sounds you're basing your assessment on the eye test or style favoritism which a lot of people tend to do with Fury because he has quite a unique style. AJ did better against Usyk overall. Fury got knocked down, AJ didn't. Fury did catch Usyk with one great shot in the first fight, the uppercut, but that's not enough to say he did better against Usyk than AJ overall. It's debatable but either way they both got beat by Usyk. So take the Usyk fight out of it - comparing every other shared opponent, AJ clearly outperformed Fury with a conclusive manner of victory via KO. If we go by their actual boxing records, not bias or favoritism, surely AJ comes out as the #1 every time?

[Rockybigblower]

it sounds you're basing your assessment on the eye test or style favoritism which a lot of people tend to do with fury because he has quite a unique style. Aj did better against usyk overall. Fury got knocked down, aj didn't. Fury did catch usyk with one great shot in the first fight, the uppercut, but that's not enough to say he did better against usyk than aj overall. It's debatable but either way they both got beat by usyk. So take the usyk fight out of it - comparing every other shared opponent, aj clearly outperformed fury with a conclusive manner of victory via ko. If we go by their actual boxing records, not bias or favoritism, surely aj comes out as the #1 every time?

......no.....

[NihonJim]

It sounds you're basing your assessment on the eye test or style favoritism which a lot of people tend to do with Fury because he has quite a unique style. AJ did better against Usyk overall. Fury got knocked down, AJ didn't. Fury did catch Usyk with one great shot in the first fight, the uppercut, but that's not enough to say he did better against Usyk than AJ overall. It's debatable but either way they both got beat by Usyk. So take the Usyk fight out of it - comparing every other shared opponent, AJ clearly outperformed Fury with a conclusive manner of victory via KO. If we go by their actual boxing records, not bias or favoritism, surely AJ comes out as the #1 every time?

Nah AJ wasn't that good

[TMLT87]

They really should have fought. I know a lot of people write AJ off but I dont think it was a given at all that Fury could have beaten him, and may have at least had some scares even if he did win. AJ was more skilled than Wilder and carried a lot of power in his own right.

If they do actually fight now its too late for it to really tell us anything besides whos more washed though.

[NihonJim]

They really should have fought. I know a lot of people write AJ off but I dont think it was a given at all that Fury could have beaten him, and may have at least had some scares even if he did win. AJ was more skilled than Wilder and carried a lot of power in his own right.

If they do actually fight now its too late for it to really tell us anything besides whos more washed though.

Yeah but AJ has no punch resistance or recovery and only has power vs a stationary target. Fury would tag him early, AJ's legs would wobble and it's be over.

[M312]

AJ is definitely the bigger puncher that's for sure.

But Fury knew how to use his size to win, so comparing KO ratios is kinda irrelevant.

Having said that, the way AJ dealt with like likes of Ngannou compared to Fury probably says a lot too.

They just need to fight and get it over and done with.

[FlatLine]

They really should have fought. I know a lot of people write AJ off but I dont think it was a given at all that Fury could have beaten him, and may have at least had some scares even if he did win. AJ was more skilled than Wilder and carried a lot of power in his own right.

If they do actually fight now its too late for it to really tell us anything besides whos more washed though.

They're both past prime now but probably both deteriorated at around the same rate. Fury got beaten by Ngannou (unofficially) and AJ got beat by Dubois. Right now, Fury may have his best chance ever to beat AJ. Earlier in their careers it was more likely AJ would have KO'd Fury but now it's evened up a little imo. Fury is a good salesman though so a lot of people fall for his hype and got brainwashed into thinking he was better, but their records clearly show that AJ was consistently superior against their shared opponents.