A factor people are overlooking in the Wlad-AJ fight

[Porter's Dad]

Wlad is the B-Side. For a control freak who has sought and enjoyed advantages for years and years, this is going to be a mental barrier for him.

For this fight, he is the challenger. He won't have an indulgent ref who will tolerate his excessive clinching. He will not have the ring surface tailored to his needs. He will likely be treated like a scrub by the ref (as most foreign fighters are on British cards ). He will not have the fans on his side.

When was the last time he was a B-Side? I think it will unsettle him like Fury did and is another reason why I see a clear Joshua win.

[-DSG-]

He isn't going to lose because of any of that nonsense he is going to lose because he is 41 years old and can't pull the trigger anymore.

[Porter's Dad]

He isn't going to lose because of any of that nonsense he is going to lose because he is 41 years old and can't pull the trigger anymore.

That too, I agree. Moreso.

But this is definitely a factor. He won't be able to keep Joshua off without turning it a clinchfest but he isn't going to be allowed to do that. I think psychology plays a bigger part than we non-fighters understand.

[The plunger man]

He isn't going to lose because of any of that nonsense he is going to lose because he is 41 years old and can't pull the trigger anymore.

And he is going to lose because joshua is alot better than people realise...to strong and holds many advantages that klitchcko has had before over his opponents , joshua is not is far from a mormeck,austin,leapai,pianeta or a tony thompson.....klitchcko will get batttered

[Szef]

I haven't seen him as relaxed as he was in the build up to this fight in years.

[Redd Foxx]

I haven't seen him as relaxed as he was in the build up to this fight in years.

Yea ^. Definitely seen a change. For a while I've been saying he needs to see a sports psychologist. Whatever brought about this change, I hope he takes it into the ring.

AJ actually seems like he gets nervous/uncomfortable easy. I think he breaks if Wlad can make AJ doubt himself.

[A.K]

He's supposed to be b side he's 41 with 2 bad performances In 3 years.....

[-DSG-]

And he is going to lose because joshua is alot better than people realise...to strong and holds many advantages that klitchcko has had before over his opponents , joshua is not is far from a mormeck,austin,leapai,pianeta or a tony thompson.....klitchcko will get batttered

41 year old hasn't fought in over a year and a half Joshua should batter him easily. Klitschko is done his time has passed.

[jaded]

Age is on Joshua's side and so is the location of the fight... which both count for a lot. And it's true Klitschko didn't look good in his last fight...but I'm not 100% sure that means he is done.

Joshua will not be the bigger man this time and let's not forget that Klitschko has 53 KO's (78%) with close to 4 x's the pro fights and looks to be in top form. Joshua has never fought anyone near this caliber before...although he was one of many sparring partners 2 and some years ago for Klitschko...and having seen him spar fresh opponents after going a couple or a few rounds with him probably has him respecting Klitschko more than people would think.

I honestly didn't think Klitschko could survive Joshua's energy until I saw how good he looks yesterday...now I'm kind of 50/50 because Klitschko does not look old at all. He looks to be the sharper and more skilled of the 2. The only thing is if it comes down to a decision it would have to be very obvious one-sided one for Klitschko to win. Having said that though...I'm not so sure how Joshua will hold out in the late rounds if it goes that far. Also...Joshua is not Fury who was bigger than both of them and didn't stand in front of him like Joshua tends to do. I don't think this is so easy a fight to predict.

[NEETzsche]

Regarding the ref, I doubt that clinching would have been a major part of his gameplan against a guy of Joshua's size anyway