Klitschko stands no chance against Joshua

[Rexob]

Course he stands a fûckin chance!

Yeah, slim and none.

[Kalan]

His cheating ilegal wrestling stuff wont be allowed in UK. Klitschko without clinches = KO waiting to happen.

Klitschko will take the biggest beating in his professional career.

Those are facts.¨

How can anyone even root for Klitschko?

Eastern Europe fans hate Floyd and Ward but for some reason they root for this boring robotic wrestling machine against someone like Anthony Joshua.

Those double standars are disgracefull.

Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed all over again

i disagree with your tone, i agree
with your content.

So do I.. Joshua has tremendous respect for Wladimir Klitschko and what he's accomplished.. Doesn't mean Klitschko has a chance in Hell though.

[Kalan]

His cheating ilegal wrestling stuff wont be allowed in UK. Klitschko without clinches = KO waiting to happen.

Klitschko will take the biggest beating in his professional career.

Those are facts.¨

How can anyone even root for Klitschko?

Eastern Europe fans hate Floyd and Ward but for some reason they root for this boring robotic wrestling machine against someone like Anthony Joshua.

Those double standars are disgracefull.

Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed all over again

Anthony Joshua is nothing more than a hype job. The Brits are buying into his crap like they did David Price. He fights in a straight line, no head movement. All offense, nothing else. He'll be embarassed by Klitschko. Mark my words.

What does Wladimir have that will embarrass Joshua??? WK can box well from the outside -- but not better than Joshua.. When the fight moves inside what does Klitschko do??? He's not going to be allowed to grab all night, I'll tell you that. He's going to get ripped out.

[Kalan]

Then you're a moron... because getting knocked out a few times, losing to Tyson Fury and looking really bad "many" times is certainly leading with a bunch of negatives about the man you're "defending" LOL ... And if he gets flattened in the 1st round as you suggest, it won't help his legacy either.

What I see at work is Wladimir's ego -- like Ali's ego didn't allow him to quit at a logical point.. If Wlad were honest with himself he would have admitted the slippage with the Jennings fight -- before he actually lost another fight.. That way he could have gotten out at age 39 with 64 wins 3 losses and 53 KO's.. That's a pretty damned good record - and he would have ended with a long winning streak.. Instead he looked pathetic against Fury and will probably look even worse against Joshua -- and leave Boxing on the game's terms instead of his own terms... In other words---like so many fighters---he gets beaten by the game... Hopefully he doesn't get hurt -- which could be the next thing if he continues to buck Father Time.

[greg]

Lennox Lewis take on this (at 2:35):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yInfyViFeU

[Badhusker]

I can't recall who said it, but they claim Wlad had his way with Joshua in sparring a couple of years ago. But hey, that was sparring and that was a couple of years ago. I expect a competitive fight if Wlad brings his A game. Big IF.

[Boxerbeetle]

Wlad can't pull the trigger anymore. Joshua wins by ko, rounds 4-5.

[bigman1968]

Ego...heritage...it's 20,000,000 usd

Nice retirement present

[HomicideHenry]

His cheating ilegal wrestling stuff wont be allowed in UK. Klitschko without clinches = KO waiting to happen.

Klitschko will take the biggest beating in his professional career.

Those are facts.¨

How can anyone even root for Klitschko?

Eastern Europe fans hate Floyd and Ward but for some reason they root for this boring robotic wrestling machine against someone like Anthony Joshua.

Those double standars are disgracefull.

Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed all over again

Anthony Joshua is nothing more than a hype job. The Brits are buying into his crap like they did David Price. He fights in a straight line, no head movement. All offense, nothing else. He'll be embarassed by Klitschko. Mark my words.

What does Wladimir have that will embarrass Joshua??? WK can box well from the outside -- but not better than Joshua.. When the fight moves inside what does Klitschko do??? He's not going to be allowed to grab all night, I'll tell you that. He's going to get ripped out.

Klitschko has experience.... and experience against credible opponents, for most of his career.... hell, even before he was a champion he knocked the crap out of Ray Mercer, and that old bastard was better than anyone Joshua faced so far.... lets look at the pedigree ffs: Chris Byrd (twice), David Haye, Tony Thompson (trice), Samuel Peter (twice), Ruslan Chagaev, Sultan Ibragimov, Lamon Brewster, Jameel McCline, Frans Botha, Monte Barrett, Axel Schulz, Hasim Rahman..... Unbeaten in ten years, champion for eight, until meeting Fury: 64 wins, 3 losses (at that time) with 53 kayos.... One of the hardest hitting heavyweights of all time, and one of the most precise punchers at the weight, etc.

Who is the best man Joshua has faced? I'd argue Dillian Whyte at least gave him some trouble... outside of that, they are all equally worthless, put their names in a hat, and draw them out.... makes no difference.... He's 18-0-0, and went seven rounds with Brezeale... He got the belt intitially because of corrupt politics that took a belt off of Tyson Fury.... He simply doesn't have the experience, or the skillset, or the credible wins over credible opponents to remotely have a shot against Klitschko.... If he's to win, he has to do it early, or else he'll be picked apart inside of six rounds.

Alot of you British people are going to have broken hearts, just like with Price, because you are all about the image, the look, the hype, the press.... rather than the talent, the skills, the truth: which is why you all refused to take in Tyson Fury as one of your own, and get behind him as champion. Anyone who doesnt fit into your "ideal" is automatically written off or made into a villain. You all have continuously made the same mistake since Henry Cooper, since Frank Bruno, etc. getting behind less credible fighters because they fit into some sort of mysticism you believe SHOULD be champion, rather than the reality.

[lillywhite14]

Henry, Joshua is an Olympic Champion and world silver medalist. You talk as if he is just a bodybuilder with no boxing ability.

He hasn't fought any real name yet but on the flip side he has comfortably beat everyone he has faced.

[HomicideHenry]

Henry, Joshua is an Olympic Champion and world silver medalist. You talk as if he is just a bodybuilder with no boxing ability.

He hasn't fought any real name yet but on the flip side he has comfortably beat everyone he has faced.

Like Mickey in Rocky III said.... "THEY WAS ALL HAND PICKED!"

Every man Joshua has faced has been carefully selected, and since he's 18-0-0 it makes it look "acceptable" at this stage of his career. Old man Kingpin, Gary Cornish, Jason Gavern, old Sprott and Skelton, etc. all "acceptable" at this stage. That's why nobody is quick to crap all over him.... but lets be honest here.... even his "quality" opponents have been unknowns, or complete tank jobs. The Dillian Whyte fight showed us all we need to know, because he's a man who KNOWS what Joshua is about because of the amateurs: and he hasn't changed much at all since then.

Klitschko sparred with the young man, knows his in's and out's, knows everything that he knows and ten times more, etc. It'll be Whyte SQUARED, come fight night. You know it, down deep, you know it. This is a young man whose been spoon fed, and looks impressive because nobody he's faced has the ammunition or the gall to go toe to toe, or were simply too small. Period.

[lillywhite14]

Joshua beat Whyte comfortably in the end. He got caught up in the emotion of it all but once he regained his composure, Whyte didn't trouble him really.

I'm no Joshua fanboy, his lack of head movement will do for him in the long run ( and possibly against Wlad providing the old man isn't shot, which I think he is ) I think he's becoming a touch underrated though based on his lack of challenges so far. As I previously said, his amateur achievements suggest he is more than just a clubbing on top fighter. He showed great heart and courage in the ams and beat some top fighters.

Still lots of questions regarding Joshua. Hopefully Wlad can provide a few answers to these questions!

[asdfjkl]

Henry, Joshua is an Olympic Champion and world silver medalist. You talk as if he is just a bodybuilder with no boxing ability.

He hasn't fought any real name yet but on the flip side he has comfortably beat everyone he has faced.

Like Mickey in Rocky III said.... "THEY WAS ALL HAND PICKED!"

Every man Joshua has faced has been carefully selected, and since he's 18-0-0 it makes it look "acceptable" at this stage of his career. Old man Kingpin, Gary Cornish, Jason Gavern, old Sprott and Skelton, etc. all "acceptable" at this stage. That's why nobody is quick to crap all over him.... but lets be honest here.... even his "quality" opponents have been unknowns, or complete tank jobs. The Dillian Whyte fight showed us all we need to know, because he's a man who KNOWS what Joshua is about because of the amateurs: and he hasn't changed much at all since then.

Klitschko sparred with the young man, knows his in's and out's, knows everything that he knows and ten times more, etc. It'll be Whyte SQUARED, come fight night. You know it, down deep, you know it. This is a young man whose been spoon fed, and looks impressive because nobody he's faced has the ammunition or the gall to go toe to toe, or were simply too small. Period.

AJ had 10 seconds of trouble in 18 fights, against Whyte, never before and neither ever since has he been in trouble. Make an estimated guess how often Wilder has been in trouble? Or Fury? Or Klitschko?

[Kalan]

Henry, Joshua is an Olympic Champion and world silver medalist. You talk as if he is just a bodybuilder with no boxing ability.

He hasn't fought any real name yet but on the flip side he has comfortably beat everyone he has faced.

Like Mickey in Rocky III said.... "THEY WAS ALL HAND PICKED!"

Every man Joshua has faced has been carefully selected, and since he's 18-0-0 it makes it look "acceptable" at this stage of his career. Old man Kingpin, Gary Cornish, Jason Gavern, old Sprott and Skelton, etc. all "acceptable" at this stage. That's why nobody is quick to crap all over him.... but lets be honest here.... even his "quality" opponents have been unknowns, or complete tank jobs. The Dillian Whyte fight showed us all we need to know, because he's a man who KNOWS what Joshua is about because of the amateurs: and he hasn't changed much at all since then.

Klitschko sparred with the young man, knows his in's and out's, knows everything that he knows and ten times more, etc. It'll be Whyte SQUARED, come fight night. You know it, down deep, you know it. This is a young man whose been spoon fed, and looks impressive because nobody he's faced has the ammunition or the gall to go toe to toe, or were simply too small. Period.

Whyte did little other than get punched out.. Whyte didn't come close to losing any of his other fights, but he landed 1 good hook and that was it... In contrast Whyte caught brutal shots all night until he was knocked out cold.. Same with Martin and Breazeale.. They had never tasted defeat, regardless of what you think about them -- and Joshua ran them over.. It's a little different than Joseph Parker fighting his ass off and getting gift decisions over Ruiz and Takam -- and Waldimir Klitschko stalling around, trying to grab and not being able to, and not punching worth a damn versus Tyson Fury.

[man]

Wladimir Klitschko is truely a great champion.

Forget that he's looked really bad in many fights in the past, forget that he has been knocked out a couple of times and forget that he lost to Tyson Fury.

Wladimir Klitschko had the gutts to get into the ring against Tyson Fury, the nutthuggers wouldn't have bad mouthed WK for avoiding Tyson Fury and what is WK doing now? He's going to get into the ring with the most dangerous heavyweight out there to duke it out. It doesn't matter if he loses by Ko in the first round, WK is esatblishing himself as an all time great HW by doing this. If he wins and that's a huge if that will be even better for his legacy but yes I am a born again WK fan now cause the boy is simply showing heart and kicking ass.

Anyone that says anything bad about WK is simply a moron.

you say many things here that i agree
with and many i wholeheartedly disagree.
agreed wlad was a tremendous champion.
people have already forgotten how great
he was and fought before the sanders
bout. he was among the biggest talents
the sport has ever seen. unfortunately he
had flaws in his defence aggressive fighters
could exploit, but instead of quitting he
picked himself and had one of the longest
reigns of any heavy ever.

i give him all credit in the world that he
has never ducked anyone and still does
so in the last hour of his career, picking
joshua, the best out there. but i disagree
this will establish him as an ATG in any
outcome ... losing never does. wladimir
is around ATG20 for me, mostly due to
lack of great wins than anything else. if
he KOs joshua and the latter turns out
to be the man in the years to come, then
wlad shoots up close to to top10 for me.

but that won't happen, not in a million
years. even in his absolute prime wlad
would be the underdog for me in this
fight. one concrete reason is that wlad
loses his composure to easily when he
gets hit.

[man]

Klitschko has experience.... and experience against credible opponents, for most of his career.... hell, even before he was a champion he knocked the crap out of Ray Mercer, and that old bastard was better than anyone Joshua faced so far.... lets look at the pedigree ffs: Chris Byrd (twice), David Haye, Tony Thompson (trice), Samuel Peter (twice), Ruslan Chagaev, Sultan Ibragimov, Lamon Brewster, Jameel McCline, Frans Botha, Monte Barrett, Axel Schulz, Hasim Rahman..... Unbeaten in ten years, champion for eight, until meeting Fury: 64 wins, 3 losses (at that time) with 53 kayos.... One of the hardest hitting heavyweights of all time, and one of the most precise punchers at the weight, etc.

Who is the best man Joshua has faced? I'd argue Dillian Whyte at least gave him some trouble... outside of that, they are all equally worthless, put their names in a hat, and draw them out.... makes no difference.... He's 18-0-0, and went seven rounds with Brezeale... He got the belt intitially because of corrupt politics that took a belt off of Tyson Fury.... He simply doesn't have the experience, or the skillset, or the credible wins over credible opponents to remotely have a shot against Klitschko.... If he's to win, he has to do it early, or else he'll be picked apart inside of six rounds.

Alot of you British people are going to have broken hearts, just like with Price, because you are all about the image, the look, the hype, the press.... rather than the talent, the skills, the truth: which is why you all refused to take in Tyson Fury as one of your own, and get behind him as champion. Anyone who doesnt fit into your "ideal" is automatically written off or made into a villain. You all have continuously made the same mistake since Henry Cooper, since Frank Bruno, etc. getting behind less credible fighters because they fit into some sort of mysticism you believe SHOULD be champion, rather than the reality.

i respect you very much for your insights
in boxing, but boy, i think you got this one
totally wrong.

joshua is the first heavy in ages which is
on par with wlad's physical attributes. one
might argue that he moves even better than
wlad. but that means wlad's biggest asset,
his physical dominance (which is not only
height!) is gone.

plus he fights in britain and the referee
will rather disqualify him for hugging and
leaning before he lets him get away with
it. the media will run this point prior to
the bout day and night and the ref will
almost certainly listen to that.

meaning wlad faces someone right on
his eyeline and is stripped of his biggest
defensive assets. which is the main reason
why he has been reigning for so long in
the first place.

here is how i see it. slow beginning, possibly
a first round with only jabs and an occasional
body shot, but neither man does anything
with weight behind it. second round both
taste a jab and deliver one or the other.

third. joshua starts to feel confident that this
is not an invincible monster he is facing and
start to losen up. when he connects, wlad
tries to hug, the ref breaks them and from
here onwards it is a slow sad story of joshua
dominating.

yes, wlad has a puncher's chance, like
heavies always do, beyond that: none.

[HomicideHenry]

I think Klitschko, will be a man posessed (imho) in this fight. To eradicate the mistakes and 'image' of the last fight. Joshua may be great on the British and European level, but in reality that is all he is. He's not more than that. Sure he'll look good in the early going, but I do believe that eventually Klitschko will get the upper hand and expose him. I'm seldom ever wrong in heavyweight matches, usually eight out of ten, and I accurately predicted Fury to defeat Klitschko. I say here that Klitschko kayos Joshua inside of six-eight rounds. Too much of an experience gap. Everything Joshua knows, Klitschko already forgot about and then some. Klitschko has faced more well rounded opponents, with greater pedigrees, etc.

[davie]

His cheating ilegal wrestling stuff wont be allowed in UK. Klitschko without clinches = KO waiting to happen.

Klitschko will take the biggest beating in his professional career.

Those are facts.¨

How can anyone even root for Klitschko?

Eastern Europe fans hate Floyd and Ward but for some reason they root for this boring robotic wrestling machine against someone like Anthony Joshua.

Those double standars are disgracefull.

Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed all over again

Anthony Joshua is nothing more than a hype job. The Brits are buying into his crap like they did David Price. He fights in a straight line, no head movement. All offense, nothing else. He'll be embarassed by Klitschko. Mark my words.

You're entitled to you're opinion but this bit in bold is utter drivel.

Look through these boards and you will see that Joshua has as many critics and skeptics from the UK as anywhere else.
Equally he has some fans from the rest of the world, Russia and America included on these board, people who are fully invested in the hype and convinced he is a hybrid of Rocky Balboa and the Incredible hulk.

There's nothing I hate more on these boards than these assumptions of nationalistic bias. I'm share an island with Mr Joshua and have still to be convinced he's the real deal, I see strengths and weaknesses and assess him fairly like any other, I've bought into nothing

[punchoutsb]

His cheating ilegal wrestling stuff wont be allowed in UK. Klitschko without clinches = KO waiting to happen.

Klitschko will take the biggest beating in his professional career.

Those are facts.¨

How can anyone even root for Klitschko?

Eastern Europe fans hate Floyd and Ward but for some reason they root for this boring robotic wrestling machine against someone like Anthony Joshua.

Those double standars are disgracefull.

Ivan Drago vs Apollo Creed all over again

Anthony Joshua is nothing more than a hype job. The Brits are buying into his crap like they did David Price. He fights in a straight line, no head movement. All offense, nothing else. He'll be embarassed by Klitschko. Mark my words.

You're entitled to you're opinion but this bit in bold is utter drivel.

Look through these boards and you will see that Joshua has as many critics and skeptics from the UK as anywhere else.
Equally he has some fans from the rest of the world, Russia and America included on these board, people who are fully invested in the hype and convinced he is a hybrid of Rocky Balboa and the Incredible hulk.

There's nothing I hate more on these boards than these assumptions of nationalistic bias. I'm share an island with Mr Joshua and have still to be convinced he's the real deal, I see strengths and weaknesses and assess him fairly like any other, I've bought into nothing

Honestly I've seen him hyped more by American posters. I've seen several refer to him as the best since Lewis, which is clearly a long stretch at this point.

[davie]

Honestly I've seen him hyped more by American posters. I've seen several refer to him as the best since Lewis, which is clearly a long stretch at this point.

I've been skeptical of the fighter and wary of the hype since day one

I've seen every punch he's thrown and know as much about him as pretty much anyone on here and have still to be convinced.

He has obvious strengths and advantages, he's powerful, he puts his punches together well. He has size in his favour and is physically strong.
He is also very composed letting his shots go, you can see he is a fighter who is thinking in the ring.
And in terms of accuracy, timing, shot selection, there's not a lot to criticize. He's a fairly well rounded offensive fighter

2 of my biggest criticisms early on, were he's stiff and lacks a a bit of spite.
He seems to have worked hard to rectify those faults, he's looking smoother and more relaxed as fights go by and he's also certainly adding some spite to his work, in fact too much so at times as he is becoming guilty of hitting after the bell or when an opponent is down

His footwork is clearly something he is working on but has a way to go and he really need to do something about that lack of head movement (I think this could be the biggest flaw he need to rectify ahead of facing Wlad)

Then there are the question marks.... How good is his chin?
We haven't seen him really tagged and have to dig deep. It might be fine, it might not be, we just don't know
How does he adjust when plan B isn't working? He's had it all his own way so far, what does he do when it doesn't

[Ilya Muromets]

David Haye all over again. "Klitschko stands no chance against Haye". How many times was that, or something just like it, posted on these boxing forums? Actually, unless Wlad really has gotten old, it should be an easy win for him.

[Kalan]

His [Joshua's] footwork is clearly something he is working on but has a way to go and he really need to do something about that lack of head movement (I think this could be the biggest flaw he need to rectify ahead of facing Wlad

AJ cuts off the ring very well. Nobody's been able to back him up or put him on the ropes, so he doesn't need runner style escape footwork -- but he retreats very deftly when somebody is charging in and he wants punching room. Great offensive fighters often get criticized for a lack of foot speed. Often it's not true. If they're controlling the center of the ring you have to move around them, your feet working overtime. Doesn't mean you're faster.

The best defenders don't juke their head around bobbing and weaving.. Guys who do that without punches coming at them, such as Joe Frazier did, get hit the most. You memorize their head movement patterns and clock them with uppercuts and hooks -- or you stab them straight on with the jab or straight right because they think they can slip them -- like Wilfredo Benitez thought he could slip Ray Leonard's jab... He couldn't.

Joshua moves his head very deftly to slip punches and keeps his head back well better than about any heavy champ but Tunney, Johnson, Holmes, Haye, and I hate to give him credit for this, but Fury slipped punches well when his brain was working. You saw great stances from those guys, and little superfluous head movement. But when somebody threw a punch they weren't there.

[Kalan]

Or rather they weren't there very often.

[pablothunder]

David Haye all over again. "Klitschko stands no chance against Haye". How many times was that, or something just like it, posted on these boxing forums? Actually, unless Wlad really has gotten old, it should be an easy win for him.

There are valid questions about Klitschko going into this but your example is a very good one. As unexciting as Wlad may have appeared, it's all too easy from the outside to underestimate the effect a powerful and accurate jab can have on it's recipient.
I'm really looking forward to this fight. Going in, there are a lot of questions hanging over both these guys.

[Kalan]

Get out of here... Joshua is bigger, taller, stronger, with much better reach and range than Haye... Haye has an excellent right hand counter and caught Wladimir in the 12th.. AJ has a better one and will get to work earlier.. Haye was looking for 1 big shot to get Wladimir going.. Joshua looks to win every round.