Anthony Joshua = New Frank Bruno?

[GL14]

Yay or nay?

[jezzamundo]

Way too early to tell. He does look very musclebound which could reduce his speed, fluidity and stamina. We really don't know how good his chin, stamina and defense are at this stage.

[GL14]

He looks too stiff to me but I'd to see the hype become true

[palooka]

There are similarities but Joshua delivered as an am amateur in the biggest contest and on the biggest stage. I really hope that Joshua does not feast on men without a chance for years. I'm always a little sceptical about boxers with huge muscles, I doubt the boxers stamina in a gruelling fight - Bruno did struggle if he'd not wiped them out in the first few rounds.

[stevedoc]

i don't remember there being the same expectation with bruno not many thought frank would win a belt whereas if joshua doesn't if will be seen as under achieving . similar but different levels joshua's gold shows that .

[dominik]

AJ was an a very good Amateur and is a solid boxer, not just a big Puncher.

he is not the fastest or most mobile guy but he is not shannon briggs either and still athletic and with acceptable speed. I don't think he is too muscular yet as he is about the same height and weight as Wladimir (albeit a Little slower with his Hands).

he should not gain any more weight though, I think 245 is still good but 10 Pounds more and he might lose a lot of Speed and mobility.

[jezzamundo]

Kevin Johnson was a smart matchup at this stage of Joshua's career because of his durability, but unfortunately he got blasted out early just like the rest of them. He has been matched much tougher than Deontay Wilder at this point of their respective careers, yet he faces a similar dilemma in that we don't know if he has the stamina for long fights. Regardless, I think his trainer needs to get him off the heavy weights.

[Counter-puncher]

AJ was an a very good Amateur and is a solid boxer, not just a big Puncher.

he is not the fastest or most mobile guy but he is not shannon briggs either and still athletic and with acceptable speed..

indeed, he is clearly a better natural athlete than Bruno

[GL14]

Idk if you were referencing current Briggs or a young Briggs, but a young Briggs was pretty athletic

[Yes We Can]

Very different styles.

Bruno was a lot less fluid in his combinations, essentially throwing very traditional shots with big power.

I hope for his sake Joshua doesn't suffer from the same mental fragility that Frank displayed when in his biggest fights, after his Am career and the pressure of the London Olympics i think he's had a good training period there.

Bruno would have been a champ in the current era, maybe even top dog for a short while.

[Badhusker]

Style and physique remind me a little of Ken Norton.

[dempseyfire]

AJ was an a very good Amateur and is a solid boxer, not just a big Puncher.

he is not the fastest or most mobile guy but he is not shannon briggs either and still athletic and with acceptable speed. I don't think he is too muscular yet as he is about the same height and weight as Wladimir (albeit a Little slower with his Hands).

he should not gain any more weight though, I think 245 is still good but 10 Pounds more and he might lose a lot of Speed and mobility.

Actually Briggs in his younger, lighter incarnation had very fast hands and was very athletic . . he lost that when he started weighing 250+, although for the first 2 minutes of the first round nowadays he still has good speed

Joshua does not a lot of similarities to Bruno, but he's also in a MUCH weaker era. There are no Bonecrusher Smith level gatekeepers to test him. He probably won't be tested until he fights a belt-holder.

[Lackeos]

Anthony Joshua is like all of the best characteristics of Wlad and young George Foreman. He's like Lennox Lewis, but more of a KO artist.

[Noxy]

Nay, Frank was a one-off, a genuine personality. AJ is manufactured (not his fighting ability) I mean his media presence, everything he says sounds rehearsed and PC.

[Tony1244]

I vote nay, but it is a bit too early to tell.

I forget the guy's name that he won Olympic Gold from in the final, but he was cornered and took halacious shoots that I think would have flattened Bruno.

[david1963]

Bruno's weakness was mental, not physical. If you've ever seen him sparring, you'd know what he was capable of. When he climbed into the ring under the bright lights his nerves got the better of him on some occasions and the rest is history.

So far, Joshua hasn't shown that weakness. I think has has bulked up more than necessary. Also, that funny shaped chin of his makes me wonder how he'd cope against a hard puncher. But all this is speculation at this stage of Joshua's career.

[Tony1244]

Bruno's weakness was mental, not physical. If you've ever seen him sparring, you'd know what he was capable of. When he climbed into the ring under the bright lights his nerves got the better of him on some occasions and the rest is history.

So far, Joshua hasn't shown that weakness. I think has has bulked up more than necessary. Also, that funny shaped chin of his makes me wonder how he'd cope against a hard puncher. But all this is speculation at this stage of Joshua's career.

I think Bruno just didn't have a granite jaw. I won't say glass jaw because he had way too good of a winning % for that, but as the British would say, Bruno was chinny. Not necessarily a mental weakness.

Offensively, Bruno was very good, but offensively Seth Mitchell wasn't bad either. But if you don't have the chin, you can't win at the elite level.

[Counter-puncher]

Offensively he was basic. Take away the jab and 1-2 he'd have almost no offence left

[SNG]

Nay, Frank was a one-off, a genuine personality. AJ is manufactured (not his fighting ability) I mean his media presence, everything he says sounds rehearsed and PC.

This is a problem these days I think. I grew up watching sport just before anyone with even a remote media profile was given media training, all sports stars are boring now, there is little or no passion when they're interviewed, even after major sporting victories. It's odd.

[Counter-puncher]

One day his mask will slip he'll go on a mad rant about straight merking him and steady bringing the borra for all his bredren, bare rape dya get me bruv

[Rexob]

A future world champion then, not a bad thing to have in common.

[rd350lc]

A future world champion then, not a bad thing to have in common.

agreed , when I read the original post it went through my mind as a negative thought , but as you say Frank was a world champ and provided us with many years of entertainment , so hopefully Joshua will follow the same path .

[david1963]

I think Bruno just didn't have a granite jaw. I won't say glass jaw because he had way too good of a winning % for that, but as the British would say, Bruno was chinny. Not necessarily a mental weakness.

Offensively, Bruno was very good, but offensively Seth Mitchell wasn't bad either. But if you don't have the chin, you can't win at the elite level.

For a guy with a weak jaw, Bruno didn't get knocked down very often. What usually happened when he lost was he'd get hit with a big shot and then freeze. Lennox Lewis unloaded about 25 punches at the end of their fight and Bruno was still standing. His first fight with Tyson had a similar ending. Bruno had enough of his wits about him to hold Oliver McCall towards the end of their fight and that's why he won the title.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think Bruno just didn't have a granite jaw. I won't say glass jaw because he had way too good of a winning % for that, but as the British would say, Bruno was chinny. Not necessarily a mental weakness.

Offensively, Bruno was very good, but offensively Seth Mitchell wasn't bad either. But if you don't have the chin, you can't win at the elite level.

For a guy with a weak jaw, Bruno didn't get knocked down very often. What usually happened when he lost was he'd get hit with a big shot and then freeze. Lennox Lewis unloaded about 25 punches at the end of their fight and Bruno was still standing. His first fight with Tyson had a similar ending. Bruno had enough of his wits about him to hold Oliver McCall towards the end of their fight and that's why he won the title.

Yes, his chin wasn't bad, he was always stopped on his feet as far as I can recall, he was never once knocked down and out.

He had zero survival instinct, and he also didn't have very good powers of recovery, when he got hurt and stunned, he didn't recover quickly enough to get himself organised and hold or spoil.

[JC]

Nay, Frank was a one-off, a genuine personality. AJ is manufactured (not his fighting ability) I mean his media presence, everything he says sounds rehearsed and PC.

That's a strange comparison to make really; many people viewed Bruno's persona as being manufactured for a mass audience and not the real Frank. Nigel Benn recently said they wanted to turn Bruno into 'the black Henry Cooper'.