What is the Americans opinion of Anthony Joshua?

[jamesohara95]

Just on Joshua, can anyone answer my question of why the Joshua vs sprott fight was a defence of Joshua's WBC International title up until 4 days before the bout, and weather the Johnson fight is likely to be a defence of this belt?

Thank you

[jamesohara95]

Looks like Joshua is fighting Kevin Johnson next, on Jan 30:

http://www.BS.com/anthony-josh ... -30--84590

Will the be a WBC International bout?

[5burowz]

I think he would beat Wlad's ass.

[cold187]

I think he would beat Wlad's ass.

i agree, Ko ing sprott and matt legg and airich is enough for me to know joshua is the no1 heavyweight in the world.

i mean it was no different to david price really....

[ponch]

Several more fights and he may surpass Audley Harrison's achievements in the pro's.

[johnswan1]

I would expect most boxing fans would and should have heard of Joshua. Olympic gold medalist, turned pro and is 10-0 with 10 KO's and never beyond 3 rounds.

Of course Olympic gold is no guarantee of achieving similar heights as a pro, but the list of Olympic super heavyweight gold medalists turned pro from 1984 onwards is not very long and includes just:

Tyrell Biggs
Lennox Lewis
Wladimir Klitschko
Audley Harrison
Aleksandr Povetkin
Anthony Joshua

Audley aside, that's not a bad list.

[ponch]

I would expect most boxing fans would and should have heard of Joshua.

And most people here have 'heard of him', that's not really saying much though.

Is Joshua the only Gold medalist 'most boxing fans' should know about / follow / take interest in? Should we be interested in Oleksandr Usyk? Luke Campbell? I had to look their names up, even though I was AT the 2012 Olympics and watched several fights at the Exel centre.

I've also seen Michael Sprott fight live. None of the has led me to get excited about this early part of Joshua's career, where we're almost guaranteed to not learn anything.

[Tony1244]

I would expect most boxing fans would and should have heard of Joshua. Olympic gold medalist, turned pro and is 10-0 with 10 KO's and never beyond 3 rounds.

Of course Olympic gold is no guarantee of achieving similar heights as a pro, but the list of Olympic super heavyweight gold medalists turned pro from 1984 onwards is not very long and includes just:

Tyrell Biggs
Lennox Lewis
Wladimir Klitschko
Audley Harrison
Aleksandr Povetkin
Anthony Joshua

Audley aside, that's not a bad list.

Tyrell Biggs had a drug problem. Audley had a chin problem. The rest are quite good.

[SenorPipino]

I think Johnson will fall to Joshua despite never having been stopped.
They're not bringing in a veteran to diminish Joshua's stature by going the distance. They sense Johnson is at the end of the road and will fall, probably within 4 rounds, to Joshua. Johnson has lost 3 in a row, 4 out of his last 5. Clearly slipping big time.
The fight will prove little, but Joshua supporters will herald a KO win as evidence that he's the next ATG heavyweight.

[dwise26]

I'm an American and I've been involved in the sport of boxing for about 6 years specifically Heavyweights. I like Joshua's potential. I have a open mind when it comes to prospects like him because you just don't know. A lot of the fighters I've seen him face aren't on his level athletically. It doesn't mean he isn't good it just means he's building up his skill level. Just based on athleticism alone I feel his American competition is Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, Dominic Breazeale, Bryant Jennings I feel if this group can stay the course I feel the Heavyweight division could return to what it once was.

[dominik]

I think Johnson will fall to Joshua despite never having been stopped.
They're not bringing in a veteran to diminish Joshua's stature by going the distance. They sense Johnson is at the end of the road and will fall, probably within 4 rounds, to Joshua. Johnson has lost 3 in a row, 4 out of his last 5. Clearly slipping big time.
The fight will prove little, but Joshua supporters will herald a KO win as evidence that he's the next ATG heavyweight.

I depends on how much punishment Johnson wants to take. he has a good chin and good defense and Joshua does not seem to be an absolute top Puncher but Joshua is very aggressive and goes for the kill. he is not a one Punch knock outer (all of his KOs have been Multi Punch barrages with several knock downs) but he can hit hard enough to hurt.

if KJ really wants to make the distance and Shows up in decent shape he can make the distance but he probably does not want to take too many punches.

[CheckHook]

What's with all the comparisons between Joshua and Wilder? I don't really get it. One is an Olympic gold medallist who's been a pro barely more than a year, the other is a guy who's had 30 odd fights and been a pro six years. I guess the fact that neither man has fought a live body yet might have something to do with it, but it still seems a bit weird talking about Wilder like he's a prospect and comparing other prospects with him.

[jamesmcdonnell]

I think Johnson will fall to Joshua despite never having been stopped.
They're not bringing in a veteran to diminish Joshua's stature by going the distance. They sense Johnson is at the end of the road and will fall, probably within 4 rounds, to Joshua. Johnson has lost 3 in a row, 4 out of his last 5. Clearly slipping big time.
The fight will prove little, but Joshua supporters will herald a KO win as evidence that he's the next ATG heavyweight.

I depends on how much punishment Johnson wants to take. he has a good chin and good defense and Joshua does not seem to be an absolute top Puncher but Joshua is very aggressive and goes for the kill. he is not a one Punch knock outer (all of his KOs have been Multi Punch barrages with several knock downs) but he can hit hard enough to hurt.

if KJ really wants to make the distance and Shows up in decent shape he can make the distance but he probably does not want to take too many punches.

I think Joshua will make surprisingly easy work of Johnson, unless he literally runs around the ring.

[dominik]

What's with all the comparisons between Joshua and Wilder? I don't really get it. One is an Olympic gold medallist who's been a pro barely more than a year, the other is a guy who's had 30 odd fights and been a pro six years. I guess the fact that neither man has fought a live body yet might have something to do with it, but it still seems a bit weird talking about Wilder like he's a prospect and comparing other prospects with him.

wilder was an olympic bronze medalist himself.

[CheckHook]

What's with all the comparisons between Joshua and Wilder? I don't really get it. One is an Olympic gold medallist who's been a pro barely more than a year, the other is a guy who's had 30 odd fights and been a pro six years. I guess the fact that neither man has fought a live body yet might have something to do with it, but it still seems a bit weird talking about Wilder like he's a prospect and comparing other prospects with him.

wilder was an olympic bronze medalist himself.

But he's been a pro six years, why do people keep talking about him like he's just a prospect that's come out of nowhere?

I feel like the best bit of PR the Wilder team have done is to create this myth around him like he's some young kid who's come out of nowhere blasting through the ranks. Its just so strange to me that people put him in the same bracket as someone like Joshua when the guy has been a pro for so long and got over 30 fights under his belt. For comparison, Wilder has had more fights and been a pro longer than Pulev and Fury and had more fights than Pulev, Fury, Chisora, Price, Stiverne, Povetkin, Glazkov and Solis. So should we be talking about those guys in the same breath as Joshua too? Is everyone a prospect now or is that luxury only afforded to Wilder?

[Tony1244]

What's with all the comparisons between Joshua and Wilder? I don't really get it. One is an Olympic gold medallist who's been a pro barely more than a year, the other is a guy who's had 30 odd fights and been a pro six years. I guess the fact that neither man has fought a live body yet might have something to do with it, but it still seems a bit weird talking about Wilder like he's a prospect and comparing other prospects with him.

Holmes and Lennox Lewis got to the top late. They were still kind of prospects @27-28 if I remember correctly.

[CheckHook]

What's with all the comparisons between Joshua and Wilder? I don't really get it. One is an Olympic gold medallist who's been a pro barely more than a year, the other is a guy who's had 30 odd fights and been a pro six years. I guess the fact that neither man has fought a live body yet might have something to do with it, but it still seems a bit weird talking about Wilder like he's a prospect and comparing other prospects with him.

Holmes and Lennox Lewis got to the top late. They were still kind of prospects @27-28 if I remember correctly.

They weren't being talked about like prospects after over 30 fights and six years as a pro. I cant really think of anyone who has spent six year undefeated as a professional fighter that would be used as a comparison point for someone that has had 1 year in the professional ranks. isn't it a bit strange to you that a guy with 32 fights, 32 wins, a 100% KO ratio and six years in the sport is talked about as a prospect in the same breath as a guy who's been fighting barely one year?

[SenorPipino]

Opening odds have Joshua installed as an 80-1 favorite over the former heavyweight title challenger.

Usually guys that are off the board underdogs to that degree, don't go the distance.

Maybe the sharpies who set the odds know something suspicious about this bout.

Personally, I'd prefer a Battle of the Brits between Joshua and Price. Or maybe a showdown with fellow Olympic medalist Audley Harrison can be arranged.
Either would be more entertaining than his encounter with Johnson.

[handsofstone]

Opening odds have Joshua installed as an 80-1 favorite over the former heavyweight title challenger.

Usually guys that are off the board underdogs to that degree, don't go the distance.
Maybe the sharpies who set the odds know something suspicious about this bout.

I think you'll find that 80-1 on for a home fighter on a Matchroom show are great odds

[SenorPipino]

Opening odds have Joshua installed as an 80-1 favorite over the former heavyweight title challenger.

Usually guys that are off the board underdogs to that degree, don't go the distance.
Maybe the sharpies who set the odds know something suspicious about this bout.

I think you'll find that 80-1 on for a home fighter on a Matchroom show are great odds

Does that mean that all Matchroom cards are orchestrated blowouts?

[handsofstone]

Opening odds have Joshua installed as an 80-1 favorite over the former heavyweight title challenger.

Usually guys that are off the board underdogs to that degree, don't go the distance.
Maybe the sharpies who set the odds know something suspicious about this bout.

I think you'll find that 80-1 on for a home fighter on a Matchroom show are great odds

Does that mean that all Matchroom cards are orchestrated blowouts?

More often than not,same as all big shows these days though

[SenorPipino]

Gotcha.
Hoist a BrewDog for me while watching these farces.

[493dart]

id like to see Joshua vs Parker next summer !

[hurricanemitch14]

i liked what ive seen fron joshua......fighting kj will tell us what we need to know. kj has ko'd devin vargas, damien wills and alex leapei and hes very durable.....his fight against hammer could have went either way too.

[SenorPipino]

Don't take Johnson as a serious opponent.
His effort next month will look like he's gone into the tank.

Aren't we setting up for Joshua-Fury in 2015 if Wlad decides to go with Jennings and Briggs during the first portion of next year?