The fantasy match : Holyfield (1990) vs current Joshua

[ValMar]

Supposing Holy's prime was about 1990, when he destroyed Douglas (although personally prefer his fights against Tyson) what do you think about this fantasy match ? Would Joshua's size be a decisive factor ?

[Jip]

holyfield to small. gets beaten. to small, to weak. a tall big guy, you need to clock him very hard and than wear him down. prime tua or prime tyson would be bad deals for josh

[asdfjkl]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

[gilgamesh]

Joshua hasn't come anywhere near proving he belongs in this league. Everybody calm down about this guy. The hype is ridiculous.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Holyfield by ko, one of the best hooks in history. Way better than tuas.

[littlepug]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

Thought I was dreaming when I read this !! Lennox for one would have destroyed Joshua

[Jip]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

u dont think prime lewis or prime vitaly would pose big problem to current aj

[jezzamundo]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

You're overstating the advantage of reach, which can be countered with good head movement and quick feet. It's possible Joshua would beat a prime Holyfield, but he hasn't fought anyone near his class, so it's way to early to be able to accurately make a prediction. AJ has fast hands for a big man, but slower than a prime Holyfield and he has relatively slow feet. Let's see him fight some big names before we go predicting him to beat ATG heavyweights.

[HyacinthusTurnipseed]

Holyfield slowly but surely crushes him. 2016 AJ isn't remotely seasoned enough to deal with the relentless but savvy pressure of EH.

[tiny_acres]

My God the hype around Joshua is insane.
Why don't we let him face at least one top 10 contender before we claim how great he is.
Damn this is just crazy

[asdfjkl]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

Thought I was dreaming when I read this !! Lennox for one would have destroyed Joshua

Lennox even struggled with Shannon Briggs, it's not like Lennox has no chance, but AJ would definetly be my favorit. Vitali, who I consider to be a lot better as Lennox, despite his lose, is basically the same fighter as AJ, and probably has the biggest chance of all heavyweights ever, but I still favorit AJ, also in that fight.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

The single thing in the ring vitali did better than Lennox was take a punch. That's it.

[Lackeos]

Anthony Joshua is the best combat athlete of all-time both p4p and in absolute terms. The way he beat Gary Cornish... that just says it all right there. I mean, could Muhammad Ali have beaten Gary Cornish? I don't think so. If Lennox Lewis fought all of the guys that Anthony Joshua has fought, he would be 14-3 right now.

[badkatt]

holyfield

[evrenb]

Anthony Joshua is the best combat athlete of all-time both p4p and in absolute terms. The way he beat Gary Cornish... that just says it all right there. I mean, could Muhammad Ali have beaten Gary Cornish? I don't think so. If Lennox Lewis fought all of the guys that Anthony Joshua has fought, he would be 14-3 right now.

The most ridiculous comment in the history of all boxrec comments. Unless it's a joke..

[jamesmcdonnell]

Anthony Joshua is the best combat athlete of all-time both p4p and in absolute terms. The way he beat Gary Cornish... that just says it all right there. I mean, could Muhammad Ali have beaten Gary Cornish? I don't think so. If Lennox Lewis fought all of the guys that Anthony Joshua has fought, he would be 14-3 right now.

The most ridiculous comment in the history of all boxrec comments. Unless it's a joke..

Of course it's a joke!!

[Ian1973]

A prime Lewis, Tyson, Holyfield or either Klitschko comfortably beats Joshua. He's beaten no-one of note people are getting carried away by hype.

[jezzamundo]

The single thing in the ring vitali did better than Lennox was take a punch. That's it.

Yep, and an overweight post-prime Lewis still managed to beat a prime Vitali.

[jezzamundo]

I don't think any boxer from the past can beat current AJ. AJ is just too fast, in both attacking as well as defending. Also note that Tyson for example has less reach as Mayweather for example. He would have been hitten like 3 times in his face before he can make an attempt to a hit himself.

Thought I was dreaming when I read this !! Lennox for one would have destroyed Joshua

Lennox even struggled with Shannon Briggs, it's not like Lennox has no chance, but AJ would definetly be my favorit. Vitali, who I consider to be a lot better as Lennox, despite his lose, is basically the same fighter as AJ, and probably has the biggest chance of all heavyweights ever, but I still favorit AJ, also in that fight.

Vitali is basically the same fighter as AJ?! They fight completely differently, unless you're referring to them being a similar height and weight. Which would be like saying a young George Foreman and David Haye are basically the same fighter - which would be ridiculous.

Oh and keep in mind that Lewis knocked out Briggs in five rounds, of which he only lost the first and knocked Briggs down three times. Then remember this was a young, prime Briggs who was far better than he is today - or was when he lost to Vitali.

[Ian1973]

The single thing in the ring vitali did better than Lennox was take a punch. That's it.

Yep, and an overweight post-prime Lewis still managed to beat a prime Vitali.

Only on cuts. Vitali was ahead on all scorecards.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Joshua hasn't done ANYTHING yet to suggest he would beat Holyfield.

Holyfield beat Tyson and Bowe, both devastating punchers, let's not start making ludicrous statements.

[jezzamundo]

The single thing in the ring vitali did better than Lennox was take a punch. That's it.

Yep, and an overweight post-prime Lewis still managed to beat a prime Vitali.

Only on cuts. Vitali was ahead on all scorecards.

Yes, and on my scorecard as well (4-2), but it was still a win and a win that looked a hell of a lot better when Vitali went undefeated in the rest of his career.

[asdfjkl]

Thought I was dreaming when I read this !! Lennox for one would have destroyed Joshua

Lennox even struggled with Shannon Briggs, it's not like Lennox has no chance, but AJ would definetly be my favorit. Vitali, who I consider to be a lot better as Lennox, despite his lose, is basically the same fighter as AJ, and probably has the biggest chance of all heavyweights ever, but I still favorit AJ, also in that fight.

Vitali is basically the same fighter as AJ?! They fight completely differently, unless you're referring to them being a similar height and weight. Which would be like saying a young George Foreman and David Haye are basically the same fighter - which would be ridiculous.

Oh and keep in mind that Lewis knocked out Briggs in five rounds, of which he only lost the first and knocked Briggs down three times. Then remember this was a young, prime Briggs who was far better than he is today - or was when he lost to Vitali.

Nope, pretty much the same fighter, similar statistics, similar style, similar built, everything.

[jamesmcdonnell]

Lennox even struggled with Shannon Briggs, it's not like Lennox has no chance, but AJ would definetly be my favorit. Vitali, who I consider to be a lot better as Lennox, despite his lose, is basically the same fighter as AJ, and probably has the biggest chance of all heavyweights ever, but I still favorit AJ, also in that fight.

Vitali is basically the same fighter as AJ?! They fight completely differently, unless you're referring to them being a similar height and weight. Which would be like saying a young George Foreman and David Haye are basically the same fighter - which would be ridiculous.

Oh and keep in mind that Lewis knocked out Briggs in five rounds, of which he only lost the first and knocked Briggs down three times. Then remember this was a young, prime Briggs who was far better than he is today - or was when he lost to Vitali.

Nope, pretty much the same fighter, similar statistics, similar style, similar built, everything.

Utter rubbish.

Lewis was far more aggressive than VItali, and hit MUCH harder. Vitali didn't put people to sleep with one punch, he was a cumulative puncher, and relied on his reach, and output.

Lewis was FAR more mobile, and used feints and body work far more to set traps for the huge right hand and left hook, he had excellent uppercuts too, as Vitali discovered. His work was more cultured and varied.

You really know very little about the sport don't you?

[jezzamundo]

Lennox even struggled with Shannon Briggs, it's not like Lennox has no chance, but AJ would definetly be my favorit. Vitali, who I consider to be a lot better as Lennox, despite his lose, is basically the same fighter as AJ, and probably has the biggest chance of all heavyweights ever, but I still favorit AJ, also in that fight.

Vitali is basically the same fighter as AJ?! They fight completely differently, unless you're referring to them being a similar height and weight. Which would be like saying a young George Foreman and David Haye are basically the same fighter - which would be ridiculous.

Oh and keep in mind that Lewis knocked out Briggs in five rounds, of which he only lost the first and knocked Briggs down three times. Then remember this was a young, prime Briggs who was far better than he is today - or was when he lost to Vitali.

Nope, pretty much the same fighter, similar statistics, similar style, similar built, everything.

Just to clarify, are you talking about Joshua and Vitali or young Briggs vs old Briggs? You're wrong in either case, but I just want to be clear who you're talking about.