Comments Thread For: Joshua vs. Wilder Might Have Just Gone From Want to Need

[BIGPOPPAPUMP]

By Cliff Rold - The sport and business of boxing needs a showdown between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder as soon as possible. That's become very true in the last couple days and didn't appear to be quite as urgent before then. Everything was going pretty well. After a bounce back year for the sport in 2017, 2018 has been holding the momentum. Every fight hasn't been great. Every fight' never is. That there has been significant, fan friendly action across the divide of boxing's seventeen weight classes was more than enough...
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[Boxing lives]

The demand will never be higher and the iron will never be hotter. 2 heavily flawed undefeated punchers at the top of their game. This one can't marinate or everyone loses....

[JimRaynor]

The demand will never be higher and the iron will never be hotter. 2 heavily flawed undefeated punchers at the top of their game. This one can't marinate or everyone loses....

Spot on, if either of these fighters have 3-4 more fights not against one another, it's almost guaranteed that one of them will lose.

[PensionKiller]

Spot on, if either of these fighters have 3-4 more fights not against one another, it's almost guaranteed that one of them will lose.

I don't think that is the case. They are both flawed but who out there can actually beat them?

Perhaps Tyson Fury can negate their attacks but can he win?

The division is in a bad stake as usual. Look at how most aren't even in shape. Then again I do feel that the past HW's were more likely to have been on PED's anyway

[JimRaynor]

I don't think that is the case. They are both flawed but who out there can actually beat them?

Perhaps Tyson Fury can negate their attacks but can he win?

The division is in a bad stake as usual. Look at how most aren't even in shape. Then again I do feel that the past HW's were more likely to have been on PED's anyway

Who? Anyone with half a punch who isn't afraid to engage. Povetkin, Miller, Ortiz, Whyte, Kownacki. None of those names are ***y, but every one of them packs enough power to stun either fighter. And not saying that either of these fighters would beat Wilder or AJ, but it becomes Russian Roulette, champions like Wladimir in the heavyweights who reign for 10 years are very rare.

[A.K]

When a known liar like Hearn keeps talking he will get exposed in the Internet era.

[Boxing lives]

I don't think that is the case. They are both flawed but who out there can actually beat them?

Perhaps Tyson Fury can negate their attacks but can he win?

The division is in a bad stake as usual. Look at how most aren't even in shape. Then again I do feel that the past HW's were more likely to have been on PED's anyway

Did any of us think Fury would actually beat Klitchko or did we think he would just negate the man? The fact is if any of these slick heavyweights can make it to the final bell then they could very well pull of an upset. Just imagine if there were a different ref in the Parker-Joshua fight. Might very well have had some tight scorecards. Parker isn't exactly the level of technician Fury is. Sure Tyson might not be able to beat Joshua in a comeback fight but once he gets a couple fights under his belt he could definitely throw a wrench in things. He isn't the only HW with wrinkles either. Wilder is sleeping everyone right now. AJ just had his 100% KO ratio stopped. These 2 fight now for all the marbles and a KO is almost guaranteed no matter who strikes your fancy. You hold off on this and it all goes to hell fast and loses steam. Joshua went down to the wire with a limited Parker. Pulled through with hometown judging and reffing but people are catching on. This is that moment where it has to be made. Its THE FIGHT but only right now.

[PensionKiller]

Who? Anyone with half a punch who isn't afraid to engage. Povetkin, Miller, Ortiz, Whyte, Kownacki. None of those names are ***y, but every one of them packs enough power to stun either fighter. And not saying that either of these fighters would beat Wilder or AJ, but it becomes Russian Roulette.

Wilder has beaten Ortiz and I don't think Ortiz will get any better, especially without PED's. He is also getting older. He is the toughest out of them all but I believe Wilder and AJ beats him.

Potvekin is decent but getting older and again will be drug tested. Russian athletes in recent times and drug use has been shocking. He was wobbled by Price and I have no doubt AJ and Wilder can hurt him. Price is a guy who once gets hit, doesn't hold up well in terms of composure. Potvekin is tough but can he hold up for 12?

Miller works hard, but I simply do not see him being able to fight the way he fights against either when they start to counter due to his workrate and very open defence. He will back off.

Whyte is flawed. He has lost to AJ and I won't let the Browne fight ignore how horrible he looked vs Helenius or Chisora. Browne is old and had a long lay off so don't let that fool you. I mock Wilder for ducking him but Whyte doesn't beat him. He is too slow and predictable.

Kownacki I will admit I do not know very well. I will look at him and reply if I have time.

[PensionKiller]

Did any of us think Fury would actually beat Klitchko or did we think he would just negate the man? The fact is if any of these slick heavyweights can make it to the final bell then they could very well pull of an upset. Just imagine if there were a different ref in the Parker-Joshua fight. Might very well have had some tight scorecards. Parker isn't exactly the level of technician Fury is. Sure Tyson might not be able to beat Joshua in a comeback fight but once he gets a couple fights under his belt he could definitely throw a wrench in things. He isn't the only HW with wrinkles either. Wilder is sleeping everyone right now. AJ just had his 100% KO ratio stopped. These 2 fight now for all the marbles and a KO is almost guaranteed no matter who strikes your fancy. You hold off on this and it all goes to hell fast and loses steam. Joshua went down to the wire with a limited Parker. Pulled through with hometown judging and reffing but people are catching on. This is that moment where it has to be made. Its THE FIGHT but only right now.

Parker is a good boxer. However he didn't do nearly enough to win convincingly other than maybe 2 rounds. IMO if the ref let it continue, I saw AJ also throw punches with his right hand and he looked down to fight like that also. Parker is known for a solid chin and I don't think AJ came there to try and blast him out. He used a jab effectively and controlled most of the rounds.
Some were close because not much happened, but I still felt AJ won them.

I actually did say to a friend that Wlad is old and Fury is big so you never know. I do feel Fury has a good chance if he gets back into it, but at the same time also feel that it's a long road for him.

Anything can happen at HW as we all know, but AJ and Wilder are ahead for my interpretation. It's just my opinion.

[Scopedog]

Good article, hits the nail on the head. Floyd hogged the spotlight for so long and so heavily that most of the top fighters are like minnows next to a whale in terms of overall infamy and sheer bank potential. Now he's gone, and as with nature the sport abhors a vacuum. Only the biggest fish can fill that void. Canelo was a big fish, he's popular in Mexico, marketable above the border, strong record, pretty entertaining style with plenty of good-looking knockouts to show off - he was basically set up to be the Prince of Vegas, and all of the stuff that was shady or disreputable about him, ie. dodgy scorecards, fabricated weight divisions etc. could be brushed under the carpet in light of everything positive. However, this drugs fiasco has surprised me, I expected it to go away quietly but instead it's blown up and basically annihilated his reputation, and I'm not even convinced that his excuse is bogus.

That means you have to look elsewhere - at Welterweight, which was previously the big money division, things just aren't the same. There are great fighters there but Spence still seems to be in the process of breaking out, Thurman's career seems to have stalled because of injuries, Crawford's just come up from a division below and has had some good fights but hasn't really beaten anyone on the casual's radar yet, Brook and Broner went off the rails and have humiliating losses on their record. That just leaves the heavyweights and Joshua - the career momentum behind him has been huge, he quickly filled the void left in the wake of Klitschko v Joshua. The combination of having a charismatic big money kingpin and a division of viable contenders for that throne has been a huge shot in the arm for what has historically been the flagship division and the way fans have responded, particularly in the UK, has shown that the hunger for big heavyweight fights is still there. However, I think that Joshua would be right to take the Wilder fight now - I feel like his momentum might be starting to flag with back-to-back mediocre performances, so he should take it before the iron loses its spark. Win and you rev your career back to full gear, lose, and well, you still got to cash out and still have the potential to rebuild. Ergo, it's the right thing to do both for the sake of the sport as a whole and his own.