I find it tricky to really place much faith in bets on how good up and coming Heavyweights really because,
A. The way boxing is now, so much emphasis is put on the unbeaten record and so many *fans* are so quick to write fighters off after a defeat.
B. The field of Heavyweights, it appears to me, has such a wide gulf between the top few and the rest. Which is quite unlike so many other divisions, which have clear levels of opponents with known attributes and strengths. But then, with heavyweights carrying so much punch power, they rack up KO's which in turn, leads to so many guys having KO losses and immediately being trashed as bums, in the current climate. Which is back to point A.
C. A dynamic and repeatedly successful heavyweight is a cash cow to a promoter. And the promoter requires a lot of money from promotions to fund the bigger fights down the line. Boxing is after all a business and, an expensive one at that.
So, given those points I get frustrated at some fans who should know better , yet still expect everyone to throw their guy in at the top, when they have experience to gain and funds to gather as they go. I agree, it is a fine line between progress in the sport and greed, but everyone holds back because a rising fighter gets trashed so quickly when they lose to someone.
It doesn't surprise me to watch heavyweights fighting (what some consider) nobodies for a while, but the gulf in class is huge and so it takes a lot (for me) to find any real gauge as to how good the up and comers really are.
Sometimes I think Joshua is a destroyer, other times I wonder where his level truly is, he's got a lot going for him and hasn't put a foot wrong so far but, he is undoubtedly raw and, I can't put my money down on saying he's the next undisputed champion in waiting. There are a lot of unanswered questions but the bigger tests certainly lie a big step above.
Whyte looks a level below Joshua, I'll say that, but wouldn't put a lot on Joshua not hitting his first real test any time now.
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