Joshua

[Ian1973]

I'm getting a bit sick of Sky creaming their pants every time he knocks over a skittle.

He needs stepping up in class NOW. These fights are pointless.

[Stuarty]

I'm getting a bit sick of Sky creaming their pants every time he knocks over a skittle.

He needs stepping up in class NOW. These fights are pointless.

Yeah agree but he is only at the start of his career and he is promising. Even the Kingpin fight is a foregone conclusion and not a proper step up! It's a fight everyone knows he'll win and it's just a case of wether he stops him or not! Who would you have him face next up?

[the_doctor]

The level of his opponent thus far doesn't justify being a headliner, that much is true, but it compares favourably with guys like Fury, Povetkin and Wlad. Wilder's first 11 had a handful of wins between them and (like it or not) he's a World Champion.

Johnson is a decent test of his finishing ability, lets see where he goes after that one.

[JC]

I'm getting a bit sick of Sky creaming their pants every time he knocks over a skittle.

He needs stepping up in class NOW. These fights are pointless.

Yeah agree but he is only at the start of his career and he is promising. Even the Kingpin fight is a foregone conclusion and not a proper step up! It's a fight everyone knows he'll win and it's just a case of wether he stops him or not! Who would you have him face next up?

A step-up means an advance in level of competition. Johnson was considered a step-up for Fury in his 20th fight and he's certainly a step up for Joshua in his 11th. He's gone the distance with some top fighters and beaten the likes of Leapai; given proper notice he's exactly the sort of opponent they should be putting a prospect in with at this stage.

[dbflex]

Fury fought 21-3 Marcel Zeller in his third fight, and 25-5 John McDermott in his ninth. None too shabby considering he was half the amateur Joshua was.

[crusader]

The unfettered hype irks me but I think he's been moved fairly well and on paper Johnson should extend him past where he's been so far. One thing that stands out is how small his opponents have been, and I'd like to see him face a big HW in the near future.

[JC]

Fury fought 21-3 Marcel Zeller in his third fight, and 25-5 John McDermott in his ninth. None too shabby considering he was half the amateur Joshua was.

That's my point, Fury wasn't moved especially slowly and Johnson was still considered a step up from British/fringe Euro level. He's probably more shopworn now but still fine for Joshua at this stage.

[1 nut]

The kevin Johnson fight is a nice fight

[keirw]

Joshua vs Whyte, thats the fight we need to see.

[Stuarty]

I'm getting a bit sick of Sky creaming their pants every time he knocks over a skittle.

He needs stepping up in class NOW. These fights are pointless.

Yeah agree but he is only at the start of his career and he is promising. Even the Kingpin fight is a foregone conclusion and not a proper step up! It's a fight everyone knows he'll win and it's just a case of wether he stops him or not! Who would you have him face next up?

A step-up means an advance in level of competition. Johnson was considered a step-up for Fury in his 20th fight and he's certainly a step up for Joshua in his 11th. He's gone the distance with some top fighters and beaten the likes of Leapai; given proper notice he's exactly the sort of opponent they should be putting a prospect in with at this stage.

Mate no disrespect but I know what a step up means. I don't need you to explain or patronise me. We all know how the Johnson fight will go down result wise. He's just a yardstick. I like Joshua and I want to see him do well but I'm tired of watching target practice. Novice or not. That goes for every prospect.

[Stuarty]

Joshua vs Whyte, thats the fight we need to see.

Totally agree mate. That's what we need in boxing. Win or lose if they're good enough they'll get there in the end. DeGale lost to Groves and I rank DeGale as a far better fighter than Groves at the moment (arguably).

[JC]

A step-up means an advance in level of competition. Johnson was considered a step-up for Fury in his 20th fight and he's certainly a step up for Joshua in his 11th. He's gone the distance with some top fighters and beaten the likes of Leapai; given proper notice he's exactly the sort of opponent they should be putting a prospect in with at this stage.

Mate no disrespect but I know what a step up means. I don't need you to explain or patronise me. We all know how the Johnson fight will go down result wise. He's just a yardstick. I like Joshua and I want to see him do well but I'm tired of watching target practice. Novice or not. That goes for every prospect.

Fair enough mate, I wasn't trying to explain what a step up meant (although I can see why it looks like that).

I was just saying, in my opinion, that Johnson is worthwhile a step up. He may start a massive betting underdog, but we all know prospects have come a cropper fighting Johnson (and guys like him) before. For a guy who's never gone past 3 he'll show him some stuff he's not seen before. I don't think it will just be about whether Joshua stops him or not. It will test Joshua's stamina and his ability to keep his composure when it's messy and arkward, all stuff that will be useful before more competitive fights.

[JC]

Joshua vs Whyte, thats the fight we need to see.

That's what I'd like to see. Let the papers get behind it a bit for some cross over publicity, nice competitive fight for the British title.

[handsofstone]

Was Joshua even meant to be on this bill? I thought he stepped in when Ryan-Saunders got pulled??

Gavern was reasonable enough if that was the case and Johnson is a good yardstick at this stage seeing as he needs rounds, although Anthony should KO him

Going back to the Bradley Saunders pull out,if the fight wasn't getting rearranged with Dave's now fighting Hibbert,then why wasn't someone able to step in for Ryan to defend against last night?

[Stuarty]

A step-up means an advance in level of competition. Johnson was considered a step-up for Fury in his 20th fight and he's certainly a step up for Joshua in his 11th. He's gone the distance with some top fighters and beaten the likes of Leapai; given proper notice he's exactly the sort of opponent they should be putting a prospect in with at this stage.

Mate no disrespect but I know what a step up means. I don't need you to explain or patronise me. We all know how the Johnson fight will go down result wise. He's just a yardstick. I like Joshua and I want to see him do well but I'm tired of watching target practice. Novice or not. That goes for every prospect.

Fair enough mate, I wasn't trying to explain what a step up meant (although I can see why it looks like that).

I was just saying, in my opinion, that Johnson is worthwhile a step up. He may start a massive betting underdog, but we all know prospects have come a cropper fighting Johnson (and guys like him) before. For a guy who's never gone past 3 he'll show him some stuff he's not seen before. I don't think it will just be about whether Joshua stops him or not. It will test Joshua's stamina and his ability to keep his composure when it's messy and arkward, all stuff that will be useful before more competitive fights.

Yeah fair enough bud I see your point regarding stamina and Johnson will surely test that. There is a fine line when stepping up prospects ie David Price, Buglioni, Etches etc... I would just rather see Joshua in with decent opponents as would we all. Defeat isn't anything to fear.

[expe]

Was Joshua even meant to be on this bill? I thought he stepped in when Ryan-Saunders got pulled??

Gavern was reasonable enough if that was the case and Johnson is a good yardstick at this stage seeing as he needs rounds, although Anthony should KO him

Going back to the Bradley Saunders pull out,if the fight wasn't getting rearranged with Dave's now fighting Hibbert,then why wasn't someone able to step in for Ryan to defend against last night?

Joshua was always on the bill, although I got the feeling they intended to pull him off it considering they didn't bother to sort an opponent until last week, then kept him on when Saunders pulled out.

[Crease]

I agree with most of what has been said in this thread. We boxing fans like to see our young and promising fighters do well. But it's equally important to see them heading in some direction. This fight with Johnson should prove a decent test for AJ, I have no doubt that he'll win the fight, the best question will be: Can he stop the man who has never been stopped?

After this fight however, I do think that AJ needs to be targeting the British Title. Last year we seen AJ fight seven times, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect him to clock up 5/6 fights before this years out. After he disposes of Johnson, he will have fought twice and still have 6 months left of this calendar year, I'm sure that Eddie could squeeze in four fights for him if he wanted.

As for AJ's direction, surely Eddie Hearn can slot him in to fight for the vacant British Title, maybe against Chisora?

Tyson Fury picked up the vacant British Title last November when he beat Chisora. It's a well known fact that Tyson is targeting a fight with KLitschsko and he has now maneuvered himself in to Mandatory position. So even if Wladimir declines the fight, Tyson will be sanctioned to fight for the vacated World Title. Bearing all that in mind, I don 't think any of us would be expecting Fury to be defending that British Title.

So yeah, AJ for the British Title. There's not much more he can learn knocking over anyone outside of the top 50 anymore.

[whiskey]

There's nothing wrong with gaining regular experience, especially when he had only a few amateur fights.

I remember when Tszyu smashed IBF champion Jake the Snake and took his title in 13 or 14 pro outings, but to be fair he'd had a few hundred amateur bouts.

Joshua needs more moulding, that's fine.

Just lets not pretend it's a headliner, it's just a nice cameo appearance for fans. Sky obviously think they have gold, a big star of the future. They just need to bring it a bit more slowly to the boil on the commentary, whilst increasing the quality of the opponent- because it's not in sync at the minute.

I've read Joshua getting a bit of stick since last night, but he's not picking his opponents. He's just doing his job.

[Bodyshot3]

After an injury like that and a fair amount of time away from the ring...don't have a problem with a one-off loosener against someone like Gavern. AJ is a huge prospect and these guys always get the benefit of getting themselves back in shape and not having to comeback hard.

But now that he's returned....settled back in....I would like to see AJ have a meaningful fight fairly soon. Get it on with Price or Whyte for a meaningful belt and let's see what you can do. Whyte, in particular, would come with the right attitude and I think AJ needs a test against someone who believes they can win and is prepared to go for it. Lewis went in with Mason in 15th fight and AJ should be setting the same kind of pace.

[Counter-puncher]

[quote="G0mez"]

I remember when Tszyu smashed IBF champion Jake the Snake and took his title in 13 or 14 pro outings, but to be fair he'd had a few hundred amateur [quote]

i remember it well. KT decked Rodriguez with the first right hand he threw, jake had a look on his face 'fvck, man' like you see ggg's opponents get nowadays

[Counter-puncher]

I see why people have Johnson 'testing joshua's stamina', but seeing as he wont be throwing any fvcking punches, I'm still not sure i wouldn't rather see someone slightly more game and ambitious even if they weren't at johnsons 'level'. Ie though its a test of sorts, I'm not sure its the *right* test.

[Yes We Can]

I see why people have Johnson 'testing joshua's stamina', but seeing as he wont be throwing any fvcking punches, I'm still not sure i wouldn't rather see someone slightly more game and ambitious even if they weren't at johnsons 'level'. Ie though its a test of sorts, I'm not sure its the *right* test.

Johnson will make him look a fool at times, as he has an infinitely better jab than Joshua.

AJ will be busy and win rounds but i doubt he will look great doing so, unless kingpin is going to seriously roll over.

[lillywhite14]

Considering how long this Johnson fight has been in the pipeline, Kingpin should be showing up in good shape and ready to give it a go. Well, as much of a go as he is capable of. No excuses unless Eddie has made sure he is coming for the holiday

[black panther]

After this feed him Dominick Guinn for some more much needed rounds and maybe the Molecule from Hell so he finally fights someone bigger than him who can punch a bit. Even the faded Michael Grant isn't a bad shout. I think good old Kali Meehan would make for nice Joshua Fodder at the moment too: he's in decent form. It is tough matching him though: he's still pretty much a novice so it would be silly to rush him too much but at the same time if he's headlining you can't really keep feeding him
Over-matched opposition. I'd match him dependent on how he performs versus Johnson and if he looks good Id consider giving him Steve Cunningham in the not to distant future.

[sammy95]

In my opinion it is fine for them to continue to put Joshua in these sort of bouts, as long as they continue to test different things.

We have seen he can deal with a slow plodder, but how will he deal with someone that is built to stick around (Johnson), a counter puncher or a tall opponent that requires a left jab instead of relying on his right hand (maybe Ustinov), we are also yet to see him against a southpaw I think.

....or maybe someone who has something to fight for, eg Price, Chisora (career on the line) or Hughie Fury and Joesph Parker (younger with an '0')