Wladimir Klitschko sparring with Gerald Washington

[lefty]

Neither sparring partners seem a particularly adequate fit for the guy they're preparing for.

[Tanzio]

Neither sparring partners seem a particularly adequate fit for the guy they're preparing for.

Who could be an adequate fit?

[gilgamesh]

Neither sparring partners seem a particularly adequate fit for the guy they're preparing for.

Who could be an adequate fit?

Yeah, nobody else in the division has the speed and pop of Joshua except for maybe Wilder. All they can do is get tall sparring partners to at least prepare for the size of Joshua.

Washington will be learning a lot more from these sparring sessions than Wlad I'm sure.

[Shirow]

I'm also looking forward to seeing Wlad splattered on the canvas. That being said, my disdain for him is entirely based on in between the ropes. He's been a true professional and ambassador for the sport. Seems pretty cool to me.

You were doing so well after your first 11 words and then you crapped your shorts. "True Professional and ambassador for the sport". Are you trying to be funny? This goon of a human killed heavyweight boxing for 10 years single handedly. The division suffered through it's worst decade in history because of the person holding the belts and the interest he never even cared to generate. He was so boring that you couldn't even get the fight here in the states. Imagine that? Never have we ever had a heavyweight champion not be televised for title defenses.

You people need to wake the F up. That's why i'm having a Wlad knockout party. I'm going to play this knockout on a continuous loop in my mind for weeks smiling my mother f'ng ass off.

By killing the Hw division do you mean being too good to be beaten for a decade? If not who was the top competition he was avoiding. Maybe he was paying his opponents to take all those KO punches.

I'm sure he would have agree to fight in the US if it wouldn't have meant taking a huge paycut from selling out stadiums and appearing on free to view terrestrial TV.

How many US hw champions chose to fight in front of smaller crowds in countries with less interest in boxing for far less money over and over again?

[Evander]

Closer it gets the more interesting the Klitschko v Joshua fight becomes.
One of the questions is do we have a live one in Klitschko or is he over the hill ?
Is Joshua able to up his game should a fairly good Klitschko show up ?

If Klitschko is up for up it this could get very interesting.

[Badhusker]

So when Wad gets killed in the ring by Joshua I got dibs on his girlfriend.

Am I the only one that sees this fight close, or even a potential upset?

[gp.]

You could walk the streets of NYC and show people Wlad's picture and they wouldn't know who the heck he is. Sad. Sad. Sad. When Tyson was champion, he was the most popular person in the world. Everyone knew Holyfield. George Foreman, Ali etc. Wlad chose to fight in the seclusion of Germany and out of the world public eye.

That says something negative about Americans, certainly. Not sure how you think it says something negative about Klitschko.

There are people in Germany. Lots of them. Germans, mostly, of course. But it's not really secluded.

[gp.]

So when Wad gets killed in the ring by Joshua I got dibs on his girlfriend.

Am I the only one that sees this fight close, or even a potential upset?

What would you call an upset?

Incidentally it doesn't work like that with girlfriends when people die. As I found out to my cost at my cousin's funeral.

[gp.]

First time in history a supposed world title challenger goes back to work weeks later as a sparring partner? Oh yeah that's right - Washington was hired by Haymon to serve as Wilder's sparring partner and he's back to work again - If there was any doubt Washington was a fixed sparring partner for Wilder there shouldn't be any now -

I don't care how bad Wilder is; there's certainly no need to put the fix in when he fights people of as low ability as Washington. There's no need for fights to be crooked as long as you keep just picking comparatively inept opponents.

[gp.]

Neither sparring partners seem a particularly adequate fit for the guy they're preparing for.

Who could be an adequate fit?

Klitschko would be a good pick as a sparring partner for Joshua. As for Joshua's sparring partner, how about Klitschko?

[gp.]

He's been a true professional and ambassador for the sport. Seems pretty cool to me.

I heard an interview on British BBC radio when he was on his pre-Haye charm offensive. He was articulate, funny, self-deprecating, the female anchor was just about dripping all over her chair she could barely control herself live on air it was pretty fucken funny. He seemed a pretty classy dude but thats the one interview I ever heard of his

I still maintain that the Youtube video he posted after the Haye fight was a work of comic genius.

[candyslim]

I'm sure that Wlad is a hoot in training camp with that fantastic personality of his. I wonder if Gerald gets a heavy bag confused with Wlad some days. Maybe he says "good morning" to the heavy bag by mistake thinking it was Wlad.

I'm looking forward to seeing Wlad crawling for the ring ropes in this one on multiple occasions. Can't wait.

Someone needs to put you on suicide watch should Wlad win.

I read the post without reading who typed it and immediately I was 90%+ certain who it was. I think Wlad must have done something unspeakable to Caldo or one of his nearest and dearest.

[caldo2025]

You could walk the streets of NYC and show people Wlad's picture and they wouldn't know who the heck he is. Sad. Sad. Sad. When Tyson was champion, he was the most popular person in the world. Everyone knew Holyfield. George Foreman, Ali etc. Wlad chose to fight in the seclusion of Germany and out of the world public eye.

..come on, boxing is not American football..its geography goes far beyond one single country, in fact it encompasses almost the whole world..although not being known on the streets of New York might be frustrating to some, it doesn't make this very person any less popular in the rest of the world and that is a huge achievement in itself..

Exactly. The HC of the W is a worldwide position and it comes with responsibilities. I referenced NYC because it's diverse and contains people from all over the globe. And let's face it, any mildly intelligent fan knows that the capital city of Boxing is Las Vegas. It's where all of the best fighters fight their biggest fights. If you can't admit that then you just hate America and we can move on. Wlad didn't fight in the USA for what, 8 years?

Either way you want to slice through anti-American garbage or pro-Wladlust, the guy was a horrible champion and didn't promote the sport like the rest of the champions did before him. He bored the masses.

[caldo2025]

I'm sure that Wlad is a hoot in training camp with that fantastic personality of his. I wonder if Gerald gets a heavy bag confused with Wlad some days. Maybe he says "good morning" to the heavy bag by mistake thinking it was Wlad.

I'm looking forward to seeing Wlad crawling for the ring ropes in this one on multiple occasions. Can't wait.

Someone needs to put you on suicide watch should Wlad win.

I read the post without reading who typed it and immediately I was 90%+ certain who it was. I think Wlad must have done something unspeakable to Caldo or one of his nearest and dearest.

I have to admit, the thought has crossed my mind. I think that its highly unlikely that AJ loses but this is Boxing and on any given night anything can happen. If Wlad wins then i'll come back to this site like a man and cry like a baby.

[greg]

You could walk the streets of NYC and show people Wlad's picture and they wouldn't know who the heck he is. Sad. Sad. Sad. When Tyson was champion, he was the most popular person in the world. Everyone knew Holyfield. George Foreman, Ali etc. Wlad chose to fight in the seclusion of Germany and out of the world public eye.

..come on, boxing is not American football..its geography goes far beyond one single country, in fact it encompasses almost the whole world..although not being known on the streets of New York might be frustrating to some, it doesn't make this very person any less popular in the rest of the world and that is a huge achievement in itself..

Exactly. The HC of the W is a worldwide position and it comes with responsibilities. I referenced NYC because it's diverse and contains people from all over the globe. And let's face it, any mildly intelligent fan knows that the capital city of Boxing is Las Vegas. It's where all of the best fighters fight their biggest fights. If you can't admit that then you just hate America and we can move on. Wlad didn't fight in the USA for what, 8 years?

Either way you want to slice through anti-American garbage or pro-Wladlust, the guy was a horrible champion and didn't promote the sport like the rest of the champions did before him. He bored the masses.

..not sure why you bring up the issue of hating anyone, my whole point is that the boxing doesn't start and doesn't end in one single country...if nothing else, the legacy (boy, do I hate the word) of Wladimir is that he took the HW crown away and brought it to Europe making it a centre of HW boxing for 10 years, and that's great stuff..the boxers don't have to go to Las Vegas to prove their popularity and their market value.. I see it as a very promising development..ideally I see several boxing centres: Europe, Asia, America...

[gp.]

You could walk the streets of NYC and show people Wlad's picture and they wouldn't know who the heck he is. Sad. Sad. Sad. When Tyson was champion, he was the most popular person in the world. Everyone knew Holyfield. George Foreman, Ali etc. Wlad chose to fight in the seclusion of Germany and out of the world public eye.

..come on, boxing is not American football..its geography goes far beyond one single country, in fact it encompasses almost the whole world..although not being known on the streets of New York might be frustrating to some, it doesn't make this very person any less popular in the rest of the world and that is a huge achievement in itself..

Exactly. The HC of the W is a worldwide position and it comes with responsibilities. I referenced NYC because it's diverse and contains people from all over the globe. And let's face it, any mildly intelligent fan knows that the capital city of Boxing is Las Vegas. It's where all of the best fighters fight their biggest fights. If you can't admit that then you just hate America and we can move on. Wlad didn't fight in the USA for what, 8 years?

Either way you want to slice through anti-American garbage or pro-Wladlust, the guy was a horrible champion and didn't promote the sport like the rest of the champions did before him. He bored the masses.

I didn't hate America, but you are really helping me get there.

[candyslim]

[quote="caldo2025"

I have to admit, the thought has crossed my mind. I think that its highly unlikely that AJ loses but this is Boxing and on any given night anything can happen. If Wlad wins then i'll come back to this site like a man and cry like a baby.[/quote]

I wish I were as confident about that as you are. I believe AJ is the real deal but he's never fought anyone as accomplished as Klitschko and Wlad looks lean, mean and determined to win his title back. Fury bamboozled him but AJ isn't anything like Fury. It could have been a one off crap performance or he could be through.

Either way it's to his credit AJ has taken this fight. If he loses it'll be "told you he was a hype-job" and if he wins it'll be "yeah he beat up sombody's grandad, so what?"

[Enlightened-One]

Either way it's to his credit AJ has taken this fight. If he loses it'll be "told you he was a hype-job" and if he wins it'll be "yeah he beat up sombody's grandad, so what?"

Assuming the Brit emerges victorious against Wladimir Klitschko, the relentless Sky Sports and Matchroom Promotions hype machines will inevitably do their upmost to convince the mainstream-masses that Anthony Joshua’s sporting achievement is on a par with the discovery of penicillin, which is one of mankind's greatest advances in medical history.!

The media coverage of AJ’s win will so extreme in the UK that winning the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award will be considered a sure-thing, as well as being bestowed a knighthood in either June of this year or January 2018, since he already possesses an MBE.

It might sound ridiculous, but if you live in the UK and possess a Sky subscription, the coverage of the Joshua-Klitschko bout will be relentless to the point of sheer exhaustion.

[montrealsuper]

First time in history a supposed world title challenger goes back to work weeks later as a sparring partner? Oh yeah that's right - Washington was hired by Haymon to serve as Wilder's sparring partner and he's back to work again - If there was any doubt Washington was a fixed sparring partner for Wilder there shouldn't be any now -

I don't care how bad Wilder is; there's certainly no need to put the fix in when he fights people of as low ability as Washington. There's no need for fights to be crooked as long as you keep just picking comparatively inept opponents.

AH is no dope - still surely fixed it - just to play it safe - he's that corrupt and greedy

[candyslim]

Either way it's to his credit AJ has taken this fight. If he loses it'll be "told you he was a hype-job" and if he wins it'll be "yeah he beat up sombody's grandad, so what?"

Assuming the Brit emerges victorious against Wladimir Klitschko, the relentless Sky Sports and Matchroom Promotions hype machines will inevitably do their upmost to convince the mainstream-masses that Anthony Joshua’s sporting achievement is on a par with the discovery of penicillin, which is one of mankind's greatest advances in medical history.!

The media coverage of AJ’s win will so extreme in the UK that winning the 2017 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award will be considered a sure-thing, as well as being bestowed a knighthood in either June of this year or January 2018, since he already possesses an MBE.

It might sound ridiculous, but if you live in the UK and possess a Sky subscription, the coverage of the Joshua-Klitschko bout will be relentless to the point of sheer exhaustion.

I don't dispute what you say EO, but I was talking about fight fans rather than the media, but since you mention the media, and I'm sure you aren't wrong about that, I can't quite make up my mind as to whether the UK media frenzy is pathetic or endearing. I guess the two things are not mutually exclusive. One thing I guess we can confident about and that is that Deontay wouldn't mind a bit of that media circus in Alabama or better yet in the USA in general surrounding him.

[Thomastearns]

If Joshua wins he'll be the most popular heavyweight champion here in the UK since Bruno.

Credit to both guys for taking the risk, especially Wlad for taking the bigger one. He probably sees AJ's lack of speed and movement (British boxing disease far from being eradicated even in 2017) as a chance to tie him up and test his chin. The big problem is that AJ punches harder than Fury, a lot harder. There is a real risk of this ending early.

This could be Tyson v Holmes all over again, and Wlad doesn't have Larry Holmes' legs or chin. The detractors can say what they like but these guys are fighting in the most dangerous division and, not to mention Deontay Wilder, are the best we have right now.

[Oiky]

I'm sure that Wlad is a hoot in training camp with that fantastic personality of his. I wonder if Gerald gets a heavy bag confused with Wlad some days. Maybe he says "good morning" to the heavy bag by mistake thinking it was Wlad.

I'm looking forward to seeing Wlad crawling for the ring ropes in this one on multiple occasions. Can't wait.

[Ossyrules]

If Joshua wins he'll be the most popular heavyweight champion here in the UK since Bruno.

Credit to both guys for taking the risk, especially Wlad for taking the bigger one. He probably sees AJ's lack of speed and movement (British boxing disease far from being eradicated even in 2017) as a chance to tie him up and test his chin. The big problem is that AJ punches harder than Fury, a lot harder. There is a real risk of this ending early.

This could be Tyson v Holmes all over again, and Wlad doesn't have Larry Holmes' legs or chin. The detractors can say what they like but these guys are fighting in the most dangerous division and, not to mention Deontay Wilder, are the best we have right now.

Joshua's lack of speed? His speed at putting punches together is one of his strengths

[candyslim]

If Joshua wins he'll be the most popular heavyweight champion here in the UK since Bruno.

Credit to both guys for taking the risk, especially Wlad for taking the bigger one. He probably sees AJ's lack of speed and movement (British boxing disease far from being eradicated even in 2017) as a chance to tie him up and test his chin. The big problem is that AJ punches harder than Fury, a lot harder. There is a real risk of this ending early.

This could be Tyson v Holmes all over again, and Wlad doesn't have Larry Holmes' legs or chin. The detractors can say what they like but these guys are fighting in the most dangerous division and, not to mention Deontay Wilder, are the best we have right now.

You don't think he is already? The most popular ... since Bruno that is.

I think AJ's supposed lack of speed and movement is a fallacy. I reckon it was the speed and the movement combined with the power, that produced that look of sheer disbelief on Charles Martin's face when he got dumped on his arse for the first time. "WTF was that !?" his expression said.

Joshua is making his third title defence. Even allowing for the fact that none of them have been world beaters, does it not seem incongruous to anyone else that for a guy allegedly lacking in movement, that we should still be wondering about his ability to take a punch?

I believe there is a tendency to mistake a lack of movement for an economy of movement, AJ it seems to me, is very adept at slipping punches with very small movements. Whether he will be able to reproduce that feat against a shrewd cookie like Klitschko is another question, but I'm going to stick my neck out and predict that we will still be asking questions about how AJ might react to getting hit really hard on the chin, this time next month.

[caldo2025]

..come on, boxing is not American football..its geography goes far beyond one single country, in fact it encompasses almost the whole world..although not being known on the streets of New York might be frustrating to some, it doesn't make this very person any less popular in the rest of the world and that is a huge achievement in itself..

Exactly. The HC of the W is a worldwide position and it comes with responsibilities. I referenced NYC because it's diverse and contains people from all over the globe. And let's face it, any mildly intelligent fan knows that the capital city of Boxing is Las Vegas. It's where all of the best fighters fight their biggest fights. If you can't admit that then you just hate America and we can move on. Wlad didn't fight in the USA for what, 8 years?

Either way you want to slice through anti-American garbage or pro-Wladlust, the guy was a horrible champion and didn't promote the sport like the rest of the champions did before him. He bored the masses.

I didn't hate America, but you are really helping me get there.

It's always the same crap with you guys in this sewing circle...anti American BS. We are all boxing fans numbskull, it doesn't matter where we come from because you're an idiot if you don't know that every fighter in the world dreams of fighting under the bright lights of Vegas. That's just a fact. They say the same about Wembley and MSG.