Gloves are off ,AJ v Klitschko boring !

[CiganoBoxer]

Anybody watch it ? It had to be the most boring one i have watched , at one stage i thought they were gonna kiss and hug it out
I just wish Joshua would drop the act and give it a bit of a needle, every fracking interview its like he's reading from a script , FFS its like the poor sod has had a Charisma bypass

[Ossyrules]

Yeah there's something to be said about these angry guys, Haye, bellew, iron Mike, fury etc! They sell a fight. Being respectful like these two is fine, professional etc, but it was damn boring

[Orionx]

I know "humble" AJ and that but I don't think it was fake. He likes and respects Wlad too much. These Gloves Off shows don't always work. If there is no genuine animosty between the two it just comes across lame. Just some blokes sat at a table on chairs the wrong way round having a chit chat.

A Gloves Of between AJ and Fury or Wilder could be fun though.

[Oiky]

I never saw a more boring 2 people in the same room in my life

If your having trouble sleeping listen to them 2 of a night and you won't be having trouble no more !

To be fair though, lets have it right, these 2 are going to make a lot of £ off this without any bad words whatsoever so I think they don't really care about any of it to tell you the truth, and as mentioned above if you generally don't have a personal problem with who you are fighting to fake it makes you look like a sop

I do think AJ is as fake as they come though and his stay humble talk is just an act

[Noxy]

I thought it was alright. At least they had a conversation instead of repeating the same thing 10+ times.

[TheCobra]

Not seen it but I don't think we need wrestling style shenanigans to sell this fight, so I'm glad they haven't done any of that. The fight is a good and genuine world title fight, which could not really be said for Haye vs Bellew which had a real farcical feel to it.

That said I do think the whole fake humble act by Joshua is about as scripted and see-through as it gets, but if you pop over to social media you'll see all the pop stars and celebs are doing it, so he's just falling into line and following the trend. We live in this time where everyone is desperate to be humble and blessed etc etc. That Justin Bieber one was the funniest. Bunch of daft sods.

Hope the fight is a good one though, cos with the lack of good undercard you're hoping it lives up to it's billing as the one good fight on the card. Just noticed Luke Campbell vs Darleys Perez and I guess that's mildly interesting. Be interesting to know what notice Perez has taken the fight at.

[ElJefe]

I don't mind AJ not acting up to sell this fight. Firstly, the fight doesn't need it. And secondly (and more importantly), he clearly has a lot of respect for Wlad, so for him to start talking shite to him would obviously be forced. Saying that, I hope he does ease up at some point and if someone who he has no connection to tries to give him stick I'd love him to turn round and tell them to fvck off. Eddie's face would be a picture.

Edit - Agree with the OP though, the show was boring. There's plenty of interesting stuff Sky could do to build this fight, don't know why they insist on these awkward face offs that make us either cringe or fall asleep.

[knockout]

I thought it was ok and both guys come across as genuine nice polite people!
Whether that's what you expect from a boxer a few weeks before a fight is a different matter of course :)

But Wlad, Joshua , GGG they let their fists do the talking which I personally prefer to the Chisora / Whyte scenario or the Mayweather / McGregor "money" theme !

( which probably means I am old and boring ;) )

[Hannah Faulkner]

Boring as hell, gloves off old tactic but cannot say if Joshua faked it

[CiganoBoxer]

I actually thought they were gonna cozy up with one another at one stage lol
Wladimir seems a true gentleman and genuine but I don't think how AJ acts or comes across is natural, its so scripted its borderline irritating ,if you think he is then common sense isn't one of your fortes' ,that being said at least he's exciting to watch so i guess we can't have it all ,its funny though have you eva see a nicer milder mannered convicted drug dealing/street enforcer !?

[mfc_se15]

Edit - Agree with the OP though, the show was boring. There's plenty of interesting stuff Sky could do to build this fight, don't know why they insist on these awkward face offs that make us either cringe or fall asleep.

Agree with this. I don't mind that not every big fight doesn't mean the two fighters are going to shout and scream at each other. But sky should be aware of this and so build it differently. Last night was pointless for me. I presume we are going to see some sort of sky behind the ropes training montage well I'd rather have seen an extra episode of that.

[tobyh5]

They may not need to shout at each other, I think most of us agree with that, but with nothing of note being said, no talking points, nothing being revealed, it makes you wonder what the bloody point of it was.

[Ezzard]

Much prefer these two than idiots insulting one another and throwing tables etc...

[Rob3_142]

I don't really understand why people are so offended by this latest instalment of 'The Gloves are Off'. It's just 25 mins of two guys having a chat round a table.

I personally much prefer to watch this than the recent Whyte/Chisora or Bellew/Haye animosity. You wanna talk about fake? How about throwing tables around, threatening each other outside the ring, slaps, punches, yet when it's all said and done, they're hugging in the ring, balls deep in each others ass. These guys do not need to sell this fight. It is done. The respect is refreshing. The talking will be predominantly done in the ring. We all know this.

Also please consider that this was recorded probably a month ago. Klitchsko has since cranked the chain ever so slightly - although again I feel this is all a little bit in vain. You might get a little drop in the respect in fight week, but it won't go anywhere close to a frenzy.

I actually thought Joshua came off better. I thought he was decisive in his answers, he was clinical and detailed, which I think got in Klitschko's head, even if just a very small amount.

[dirk2686]

Whenever fighters are flipping tables, swearing at each other, talking about killing people and so on, it's an act to sell a fight. Yet when two people seem very respectful, are reserved in their opinions, and don't resort to trash talk, it's an act as well.

I don't get it. Whilst quite a bit may be overdone I tend to take boxers at close to face value. Some, (Bellew an obvious example), seem to have the need to viciously dislike someone they are going to fight. Wlad just seems to see the whole thing as a job and if you're a decent person he'll be decent back. Joshua may be media trained to an extent, but I don't think it's much more than 'don't be a dickhead.'

[blanca]

prefer their approach to the macho im so hard acts we get. as in everyday life it the quiet ones who are the hardest. those that gob off are usually fck all and use the mouth to hide their weaknesses. whether its an act or not theres something more chilling about a guy who stays calm and then knocks people out when it matters, than a gobshite.

[TheLeprechaun]

I personally much prefer to watch this than the recent Whyte/Chisora or Bellew/Haye animosity. You wanna talk about fake? How about throwing tables around, threatening each other outside the ring, slaps, punches, yet when it's all said and done, they're hugging in the ring, balls deep in each others ass. These guys do not need to sell this fight. It is done. The respect is refreshing. The talking will be predominantly done in the ring. We all know this.

Absolutely. I find it distasteful to see two lads who were giving it large to each other before the fight being best pals in the ring after the fight. Degale and Groves clearly have a deep dislike for each other and I'll watch them doing any prefight show any time. I know they are going to be giving it large to each other after the fight too.

It just feels like fighters are playing me for a fool when they do the fake beef. Klitschko and AJ have at least been consistently like this through their careers so there is some kind of authenticity behind what they are doing.

I would still expect Klitschko to stare down AJ in the ring and have his game face on and I' still expect AJ to be sticking his tongue out and laughing at Klitschko if he gets him hurt, like he has to almost all of his previous opponents.

[SAPFO]

AJ seemed to be genuinely respectful of Wlad. Wlad wanted some needle, but AJ never gave it to him. AJ stayed 'humble', but the respect part did seem genuine on his part.

I genuinely do not know how this fight will pan out, which can only be a good thing. Wlad has made his reign look easy to the point we disregard any achievements of his. He easily dealt with prime Haye, who at that point was the fastest heavyweight, and most dangerous 1 shot puncher in boxing. He his faster, and hits harder than AJ, and he couldnt touch Wlad.

[Tuan_Jim]

I don't mind two boxers being respectful of each other. Boxers used to be gentlemen. Shaking hands at weigh ins, being sporting. Fighting was just a job. It was Sonny Liston who brought the prison yard into the ring, Cassius Clay the braggadocio, but at least with those two it was authentic; we've had to endure gutter culture and charmless Ali imitators who come off as loutish yobs ever since. And with the decline of interest in the sport, promoters have turned to WWF-style theatrics to try engage a rabble audience, which personally I find embarrassing.

I think the issue with a boring AJ/Klit face off is how dishonest it all feels. AJ seems to be masking an extremely dark and surly personality, and 'Gentleman' Wlad, along with his brother, spent a decade ensuring his overmatched opponents always entered the ring having been handicapped in every conceivable way, and if the opponent was still too tasty, Povetkin for example, he thinks nothing of using an Akinwande-Bonecrusher style bearhug for 12 rounds, while his house referee and judges look the other way. He's obviously an odious, devious character, so the two of them being perfect gentleman to each other rings false. A face off with their actual personalities on display would be utterly compelling. A real pair of bastards in my opinion!

[davie]

Much prefer these two than idiots insulting one another and throwing tables etc...

As do I, I have no problem with them being respectful in the build up.

But in that case why bother having a gloves are off show, other than that just the done thing.

There needs to be at least a little needle in this show to make the format work.

As someone pointed out there are plenty other things Sky could do, 24/7 type documentaries and the likes

[Nightmare Roy]

I quite enjoyed it, much better than 2 Herburts just insulting each other, Klit always carries himself well and AJ is a cool customer, they will do their talking in the ring

[Oiky]

Alot of peoples saying Klitschko was working his old mind games in the gloves are off and Joshua looked "rattled" in his eyes and didn't get his words out very well. I didn't really see any of this tell you the truth, but there you go, people will pick up on the slighest of things these days

I would like Klitschko to get inside Joshuas head and beat him though, just don't think he will have/give enoguh on the night. Joshuas fake media routine is aggravating and the way some talk about him is far too early for what he has shown us

[Stuarty]

Couldn't bring myself to watch it. The advert had me wanting to jump out my livingroom window!

My mate text me this morning and said it was utter crap. He said he thought they were about to start sucking one another off at one point!

Fight should be good though.

[Oiky]

Couldn't bring myself to watch it. The advert had me wanting to jump out my livingroom window!

My mate text me this morning and said it was utter crap. He said he thought they were about to start sucking one another off at one point!

Fight should be good though.

Comical

My cousin reckoned it was almost like a romantic dinner and wouldln't be suprised if they went and had a candle lit bath together

[jamesmcdonnell]

I seldom watch these things, for good reason, either there's loads of fake banter with people repeating the same old platitudes, or you have a borefest like this.

Joshua might well have a lot of respect for Wlad, but he's a spiteful bastard in the ring, and that's all I care about.