AJ is the heavyweight version of Jeff Lacy

[The Gambler1981]

Jeff Lacey had a good left hook and not much else, a hooker is only as dangerous as they can land that punch, without a jab or straight right it can be an impossible punch to land on someone highly skilled committed to taking it away.

Left hook specialists will always have trouble with a southpaw, it is a punch that can work but it is tricky to land because how a southpaw moves naturally away from that punch, if they can't be corralled it can't land.


Joshua has a mean straight right, which right there makes him a much more versatile fighter because that is a punch that works against both stances. So right there the comparison fails without having to dig deeper.

[BlackRevolver]

Whatever fans think of Joshua, one thing you have to respect the guy for is wanting the big fights.

He wants to fight Haye/Fury and he wants to unify the division. Which is refreshing to hear as he could just sit back, take 10 fights (after securing the title) and fight nobody of note.

Haye will defeat AJ and I suspect his camp know Haye is a dangerous fight, but again to AJ's credit, he will make that fight happen.

[ukbox]

Whatever fans think of Joshua, one thing you have to respect the guy for is wanting the big fights.

He wants to fight Haye/Fury and he wants to unify the division. Which is refreshing to hear as he could just sit back, take 10 fights (after securing the title) and fight nobody of note.

Haye will defeat AJ and I suspect his camp know Haye is a dangerous fight, but again to AJ's credit, he will make that fight happen.

Kelly Brook wants the big fights too..but who's he been fighting?

[Redd Foxx]

Whatever fans think of Joshua, one thing you have to respect the guy for is wanting the big fights.

Eh, everyone "wants" big fights these days but don't be so quick to give them credit until they actually take big fights. How many guys mention Rigo, GGG, Ward, etc and then fail to ever actually get in the ring with them when the opportunity comes.

[Tom Cruise]

It makes me laugh how much people get affected by hype and paper titles and such, either buying into it, or reacting against it. Just judge a fighter fight by fight.

Joshua went from a good domestic title win over Whyte to a guy who was ranked probably around the top 15-20 or so. He won both by KO, now we'll see how he looks moving forward. Prob should be looking at lower top 10 now. Takam would have been perfect if Parker wasnt fighting him. Maybe they take a risk with Parker, or find someone else idk. Taking on Haye/Fury/Wilder/Wlad/Ortiz/Povetkin would be a huge leap from what he has been fighting.

All the bull**** about him being 'world champ', or the next Lennox is hype for the casuals. No need for us to pay any attention to it

[Szef]

He lacks in the ring generalship departament, his footwork isn't very good either.

I don't rate his win over Martin at all and laugh my ass off at some people on here who have been proclaiming him as the next ATG HW since yesterday.

It might be just my wild imagination, but I think he might end up like Wladimir: look like an offensive machine early on in his career, get chin checked, turn into a boring but effective fighter.

They're both Olympic champions too. But Wladimir won his gold medal fair and square, Joshua did not.

[The Gambler1981]

They should take it slow with Joshua because he still does have a lot to learn, so while Martin to a degree was highly rated he didn't actually test him.

Joshua needs to be pushed and stretched out, a guy like Stiverne who is limited but really tough could take him rounds. A guy like Duhaupus has a jab that could trouble him along with good size and once again very tough. Both those fights are unlikely to cause Joshua to lose but would ask more questions of Joshua than Martin did even if they aren't as highly rated.

[BlackRevolver]

Eh, everyone "wants" big fights these days but don't be so quick to give them credit until they actually take big fights. How many guys mention Rigo, GGG, Ward, etc and then fail to ever actually get in the ring with them when the opportunity comes.

The difference is Joshua will take the big fights. There is no doubt of that and come the end of the year we will be discussing such fights.

I guess he could follow other "champions" - win a championship while cheery picking fights to keep his belt for that little bit longer, but the plan is quite clear for AJ. Win titles and defeat the best in the division, instead of hiding away for years.

[Tom Cruise]

Really he should just be starting to get mainstream attention now, like Parker is.

And if that was the case we would look at his record, see a few tough older guys, a couple prospects, a top 20 ranked fighter on his resume and probably think he was doing pretty well in comparison to other HW prospects.

[boliodogs]

He looks damn good to me. I think he just might be the best heavyweight right now although Fury is the true lineal champ. Ortiz and Wilder are both dangerous of course. Joshua has a terrific straight right and I think he can KO anybody with it. I like him much better than Lacy. Lacy never had his kind of snap in his punches. He is the youngest of the top heavyweights. He is huge, powerful and a great puncher. He has never been down and never fails to get the KO. What's not to like?