Joshua vs Breazeale

[Horse]

Joshua has to fight somebody in the IBF's Top !5 in order for it to be recognised as a title defence.
Takam, Parker, Pulev, Glazkov, Chisora, Duhaupas and Haye are scheduled in other contests and Glazkov is recovering from an injury.

Why couldn't he fight Ruiz?

Who's Duhaupas fighting?

The only possible opponents for Joshua were Molina, Miller, Teper, Breazeale or a rematch with Charles Martin!
Given the available competition what's a guy to do?
I'm sure the big fights will come later down the line. In the meantime it's great that Joshua is keeping busy.

Fight Molina or Teper then.

[CiganoBoxer]

Come is there any surprise ?
Everyone knew AJ would keep padding his record fighting the stiffs in the IBF rankings all the while talking shit about the real champion Tyson Fury .

[Shirow]

Sounds like everyone is going overboard. It's a first defence against an unbeaten US prospect who is a little bit taller and heavier than Joshua.
It should get some attention in the US. I don't begrudge a gimme. I've seen a little of him and i would rate him as similar to Martin, very big, strong & athletic with very sloppy boxing skills.

He's already had a gimme. Joshua is the least credible major title holder in world boxing and this fight will not help to change that.

Of course it this shouldn't be PPV. I won't pay for it but will find a way to watch but this is a safe defence that should be used as a showcase available to as many people as possible. It would be smarter to make it available to everyone with Sky whether they have Sports or not, pile more casuals onto the gravy train to make them more likely to buy a more worthwhile PPV down the road.

I don't think he should be rushed (this year) into fights with Fury, Klitschko, Povetkin or Ortiz. Other than that he should look to clean up everyone else get some experience and go the the top guys in 2017.

How can Joshua clean out the rest of the division, in the 6 months after his next fight, before 2017 starts?

Or even in the 18 months after, if he fights one of the top guys on the last day of 2017 or something?

Maybe i should have said begin cleaning up the division by fighting anyone else in the division immediately excluding those names.

I can't imagine anyone jumping for joy if Stiverne was the opponent after his terrible performance against Wilder he has fought once in the following 15 months to narrowly beat Derrric Rossy after getting dropped in the first round. I wouldn’t describe Brezeale as a weakling either as he is taller and will outweigh AJ. Did you consider Michael Grant a weakling before the Lewis fight?
The HW division is very shallow, there are only 4 boxers in the world I’d give a serious chance of beating him so I don’t expect him to get around to them immediately. He is fighting contemporaries and not journeymen like Wilder so I don’t have a big problem with it nor am I that excited about it.

[SteveO]

The only possible opponents for Joshua were Molina, Miller, Teper, Breazeale or a rematch with Charles Martin!
Given the available competition what's a guy to do?
I'm sure the big fights will come later down the line. In the meantime it's great that Joshua is keeping busy.

Fight Molina or Teper then.

I don't know - maybe Breazeale was an easier fight to make for the June date?
No doubt it will sell out the O2, do OK on the PPV and the fact that it is an American opponent will ensure interest in the United States.
Thankfully, Joshua is keeping busy until the unification fights can be made. It's all good experience for him.

[Mighty Atom]

The only possible opponents for Joshua were Molina, Miller, Teper, Breazeale or a rematch with Charles Martin!
Given the available competition what's a guy to do?
I'm sure the big fights will come later down the line. In the meantime it's great that Joshua is keeping busy.

Fight Molina or Teper then.

I don't know - maybe Breazeale was an easier fight to make for the June date?
No doubt it will sell out the O2, do OK on the PPV and the fact that it is an American opponent will ensure publicity in the States.
Thankfully, Joshua is keeping busy until the unification fights can be made. It's all good experience for him.

Teper can't fight in this country because of him doping against Price

[TheLeprechaun]

Breazeale is pretty tough. Good fight.

[Horse]

Maybe i should have said begin cleaning up the division by fighting anyone else in the division immediately excluding those names.

I can't imagine anyone jumping for joy if Stiverne was the opponent after his terrible performance against Wilder he has fought once in the following 15 months to narrowly beat Derrric Rossy after getting dropped in the first round. I wouldn’t describe Brezeale as a weakling either as he is taller and will outweigh AJ. Did you consider Michael Grant a weakling before the Lewis fight?

Stiverne would be a much better opponent than Breazeale.

Grant wasn't a great opponent for Lewis. Is it wrong to think Grant was a relative weakling?

The HW division is very shallow, there are only 4 boxers in the world I’d give a serious chance of beating him so I don’t expect him to get around to them immediately.

If the heavyweight division is so shallow then why can't Joshua fight some of the higher ranked fighters?

The division being weak gives him even less excuse for fighting low ranked fighters.

He is fighting contemporaries and not journeymen like Wilder so I don’t have a big problem with it nor am I that excited about it.

Wilder's opposition has been much better than Joshua's.

You don't think that Joshua is fighting better opposition than Wilder do you?

[Stuarty]

Maybe i should have said begin cleaning up the division by fighting anyone else in the division immediately excluding those names.

I can't imagine anyone jumping for joy if Stiverne was the opponent after his terrible performance against Wilder he has fought once in the following 15 months to narrowly beat Derrric Rossy after getting dropped in the first round. I wouldn’t describe Brezeale as a weakling either as he is taller and will outweigh AJ. Did you consider Michael Grant a weakling before the Lewis fight?

Stiverne would be a much better opponent than Breazeale.

Grant wasn't a great opponent for Lewis. Is it wrong to think Grant was a relative weakling?

The HW division is very shallow, there are only 4 boxers in the world I’d give a serious chance of beating him so I don’t expect him to get around to them immediately.

If the heavyweight division is so shallow then why can't Joshua fight some of the higher ranked fighters?

The division being weak gives him even less excuse for fighting low ranked fighters.

He is fighting contemporaries and not journeymen like Wilder so I don’t have a big problem with it nor am I that excited about it.

Wilder's opposition has been much better than Joshua's.

You don't think that Joshua is fighting better opposition than Wilder do you?

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous. Joshua has only had 16 pro fights. If you compare opposition at the same stage then Joshua's is far better yes.

[Horse]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous.

He still had a better record than Joshua does now.

Joshua has only had 16 pro fights. If you compare opposition at the same stage then Joshua's is far better yes.

Why would I want to do that?

[the_doctor]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous. Joshua has only had 16 pro fights. If you compare opposition at the same stage then Joshua's is far better yes.

This is exactly the point. Did anyone seriously think that Joshua was going to win a belt then go straight in with the top dogs? How often does that happen?

Fury/Klitschko and Wilder/Povetkin rules those guys out. Pulev is fighting Chisora. Parker has to fight Takam. Haye is fighting in May. Glazkov is injured. Teper is still banned. There really isn't much else.

The anti-Hearn/Joshua crowd were preparing their vitriol waaaaay before an actual opponent was announced and you can be guaranteed that if it was Molina or Stiverne instead of Breazeale, the complains would be just as loud and just as furious.

[Horse]

The anti-Hearn/Joshua crowd were preparing their vitriol waaaaay before an actual opponent was announced and you can be guaranteed that if it was Molina or Stiverne instead of Breazeale, the complains would be just as loud and just as furious.

No, they wouldn't be.

This fight is much worse.

[Sklar]

Is there an easier way to make millions? I can't think of one.

[Stuarty]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous.

He still had a better record than Joshua does now.

Joshua has only had 16 pro fights. If you compare opposition at the same stage then Joshua's is far better yes.

Why would I want to do that?

He's been a pro 5 or 6 years longer and has had more than double the fights AJ has had so I should think he would've faced the better opposition you turnip! Honestly what is wrong with you? Is it an attention thing? You'd give a feckin aspirin a sore head man

[Horse]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous.

He's been a pro 5 or 6 years longer and has had more than double the fights AJ has had so I should think he would've faced the better opposition you turnip!

So you admit that Joshua's record is even worse than the "horrendous" pre-Stiverne record of Wilder?

Honestly what is wrong with you? Is it an attention thing? You'd give a feckin aspirin a sore head man

You seem quite immature.

[tigermoth87]

Joke of defense. I can name at least 20 fighters better than brezeale in the division.

He's the sort if opponent Hughie should be facing.

Possibly yeah. Someone earlier on the thread said the dude Hughie is fighting on Sat fought Breazeale and should've got the nod lol.

I never realised that but yeah, you're right. It's him. That makes him an even worse opponent than I thought if he needed a gift decision to beat Kassi.

[Stuarty]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous.

He's been a pro 5 or 6 years longer and has had more than double the fights AJ has had so I should think he would've faced the better opposition you turnip!

So you admit that Joshua's record is even worse than the "horrendous" pre-Stiverne record of Wilder?

Honestly what is wrong with you? Is it an attention thing? You'd give a feckin aspirin a sore head man

You seem quite immature.

You seem like an anal lunatic but live and let live eh...

No Wilders opposition was even more carefully selected than AJs up until Stiverne. In another fight or two AJ will likely have to fight Parker then he'll be looking at Fury/Wlad or Haye. Maybe even the winner of Deontay/Povetkin. That puts Wilders padded record to shame. Of course AJ could well lose in any of they fights. Nobody that knows the sport doesn't think AJ is anything other than a work in progress. Hard to match because he's bowling people over.

[Stuarty]

If AJ didn't have the Matchroom PR machine behind him and he was a dick the hardcore element of us fans would probably like him more! We're a funny bunch at times...

[jamesmcdonnell]

As a first defence, I have no problem with this. I won't be paying for PPV at all, nor attend it, In fact my work offered to buy VIP tickets for this fight as a bonus for hitting my target- when I found out they were 1000 each, I told them to save their money and do something else.

However, I'm happy Joshua is keeping busy and not sitting out for 6 months after winning the title. It's not like there's really much talent out there for him to fight at the moment.

[Stuarty]

As a first defence, I have no problem with this. I won't be paying for PPV at all, nor attend it, In fact my work offered to buy VIP tickets for this fight as a bonus for hitting my target- when I found out they were 1000 each, I told them to save their money and do something else.

However, I'm happy Joshua is keeping busy and not sitting out for 6 months after winning the title. It's not like there's really much talent out there for him to fight at the moment.

I'd have just asked for the cash

[Horse]

You seem like an anal lunatic but live and let live eh...

No Wilders opposition was even more carefully selected than AJs up until Stiverne.

Wilder's pre-Stiverne record was much better than Joshua's, whether it was carefully selected or not.

Joshua's record is exceedingly poor. He wasn't even a good British or Commonwealth champion. He didn't fight any of his main rivals.

In another fight or two AJ will likely have to fight Parker then he'll be looking at Fury/Wlad or Haye. Maybe even the winner of Deontay/Povetkin. That puts Wilders padded record to shame. Of course AJ could well lose in any of they fights. Nobody that knows the sport doesn't think AJ is anything other than a work in progress. Hard to match because he's bowling people over.

Joshua does not deserve credit for fights that have not taken place yet.

Joshua is not hard to match. Everyone in the division wants to fight him.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Up until Stiverne Wilders opponents were horrendous.

He's been a pro 5 or 6 years longer and has had more than double the fights AJ has had so I should think he would've faced the better opposition you turnip!

So you admit that Joshua's record is even worse than the "horrendous" pre-Stiverne record of Wilder?

Honestly what is wrong with you? Is it an attention thing? You'd give a feckin aspirin a sore head man

You seem quite immature.

You seem like an anal lunatic but live and let live eh...

No Wilders opposition was even more carefully selected than AJs up until Stiverne. In another fight or two AJ will likely have to fight Parker then he'll be looking at Fury/Wlad or Haye. Maybe even the winner of Deontay/Povetkin. That puts Wilders padded record to shame. Of course AJ could well lose in any of they fights. Nobody that knows the sport doesn't think AJ is anything other than a work in progress. Hard to match because he's bowling people over.

I think it's best for both of us if we stopped engaging him. He's almost as bad as Fergus. Hopefully Horse goes the same way.

[Horse]

However, I'm happy Joshua is keeping busy and not sitting out for 6 months after winning the title.

Why would he do that?

It's not like there's really much talent out there for him to fight at the moment.

There's much better talent than Breazeale.

[Horse]

I think it's best for both of us if we stopped engaging him. He's almost as bad as Fergus. Hopefully Horse goes the same way.

You are a terrible poster.

[reggaereggae]

How much will Joshua get for erasing this bum? Paddy power's odds have Johua only 9/4 for 1st round Ko and 3/10 for Ko in rounds 1-3

[Stuarty]

You seem like an anal lunatic but live and let live eh...

No Wilders opposition was even more carefully selected than AJs up until Stiverne.

Wilder's pre-Stiverne record was much better than Joshua's, whether it was carefully selected or not.

Joshua's record is exceedingly poor. He wasn't even a good British or Commonwealth champion. He didn't fight any of his main rivals.

In another fight or two AJ will likely have to fight Parker then he'll be looking at Fury/Wlad or Haye. Maybe even the winner of Deontay/Povetkin. That puts Wilders padded record to shame. Of course AJ could well lose in any of they fights. Nobody that knows the sport doesn't think AJ is anything other than a work in progress. Hard to match because he's bowling people over.

Joshua does not deserve credit for fights that have not taken place yet.

Joshua is not hard to match. Everyone in the division wants to fight him.

I didn't say he did deserve credit. That would be daft. It was merely an observation. Wilders standard of opponent until Stiverne was honking and not better than AJs. Dress it up however you like. No he's not been a good British champ but he can't be blamed for that can he? The best big guys in the country are beyond that domestic level. Would you rather he fought Dave Allen or John McDermott, Price or Sexton maybe? Cornish again? You're criticising his calibre of opponent but in the same breath you're giving him stick for not being a good British champion? Makes no sense. He holds a world belt now.