Round-By-Round - Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko - April 29th 2017

[KiwiRider]

Jesus Christ they're gonna screen a short film about Joshua's "journey" before the fight.

Can you imagine how nauseating that will be.

Short film?
It's listed as 55mins long! That's a lot of Humble

[mickey1975]

I can't believe how many pubs are showing it round here. I've seen at least twenty so far.

[CaptainSpacerod]

I feel queasy just reading that.... I'm not sure I could watch such a programme without spewing every ten minutes....

Stuff like this really makes me hope Wlad Kos him spectacularlya and early.... then I can see Adam smith and camp Eddie look as nauseous as I would watching this....

I feel the same but I feel guilty about it.

Here we have a youngish, unbeaten British heavyweight knockout artist going in to battle with an over the hill Ukrainian yet I want our lad to get flattened. I remember watching Bruno in big fights back in the 80s and living every punch with the big fella and feeling gutted when he lost particularly in the Bonecrusher Smith fight.

[boxingknockout]

I feel queasy just reading that.... I'm not sure I could watch such a programme without spewing every ten minutes....

Stuff like this really makes me hope Wlad Kos him spectacularlya and early.... then I can see Adam smith and camp Eddie look as nauseous as I would watching this....

I feel the same but I feel guilty about it.

Here we have a youngish, unbeaten British heavyweight knockout artist going in to battle with an over the hill Ukrainian yet I want our lad to get flattened. I remember watching Bruno in big fights back in the 80s and living every punch with the big fella and feeling gutted when he lost particularly in the Bonecrusher Smith fight.

I know what you mean. With regards to Bruno I was devastated when the Spoon stopped him. He got me into boxing along with mcguigan. Bruno was always my number 1 though. I played Frank Bruno's boxing religiously and beat Peter Perfect (the oddly skinny and white American heavyweight champion of the world )

But Joshua has none of Frank's genuine qualities in my opinion. As for supporting a pro boxer just because they're British? That argument no longer works for me in my cynical old age. Amateur boxing, sure. Team sports, sure.

But pro boxing is an individual sport / business so nationality is not so relevant. Fighters fight for themselves and basically if I like their character and style I will root for them. After the humble hype train started in full flow, I felt nauseous and have wanted him to get chinned ever since and including the Dillian Whyte fight.

[MightyWarrior]

Yeah but let's be honest here, Frank Bruno had the humble thing going down to a T.
He may not have used the word, but his public image was humbleness personified. Very much part of the establishment - Y'know what I mean Arry?
That was the main reason the Brit public warmed to him, rather than a brash type like Lloyd Honeyghan.
And remember, this was the era of Alan Minter saying I'm not gonna lose my title to a black man...and also the reason Lennox hurtfuly, devastatingly referred to Frank as an Uncle Tom.

Frank did have that charm about him though... Joshua doesn't have that, plus he has to rely on that team around him, obviously carefully cultivating his image; but I think underneath that he is a good guy too.

[Rob3_142]

But Joshua has none of Frank's genuine qualities in my opinion.

Humour me, which qualities are referring to? (Not trolling)

[dirk2686]

But pro boxing is an individual sport / business so nationality is not so relevant. Fighters fight for themselves and basically if I like their character and style I will root for them. After the humble hype train started in full flow, I felt nauseous and have wanted him to get chinned ever since and including the Dillian Whyte fight.

Who would you want to win if they fought - Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua?

I get the idea that Joshua may be faking his humble guy thing to an extent, but it just seems like sensible behaviour. If you act the way you do in private in every context a lot of people are going to think you're a dickhead. Joshua largely says nothing controversial, largely does nothing controversial, but all that leads to (in my opinion), is that he's a bit of a average, perhaps fairly dull guy. I've no doubt his team have probably media trained him, but I don't see that as being reason to hate him, which some clearly do.

It reminds me of Lewis to an extent. He became a great and you barely meet any UK boxing fans who disliked him, but he was loathed for a long period of time, for every reason you could name; not a real Brit, not as nice a guy as Bruno, boring in and out of the ring, thinking he was better than he was, aloof, only interested in money, not enough time in the UK vs USA, chinny.

Now obviously Joshua is nowhere near the stature of Lewis and probably never will be, but I do wonder about what is making someone see a young, exciting guy who is without question the biggest attraction in domestic boxing to have debuted in the last decade, and think 'I hope this guy gets chinned.'

The reason I mention Fury is that he genuinely has said things that I can understand cause people to loathe him. And it often seems if someone dislikes one, they like the other. But I've definitely had conversations with people who openly admit they hope Wlad annihilates Joshua because they don't like his 'fake humble' approach, yet give Fury plenty of leeway when it comes to the gays/women nonsense.

[Rob3_142]

But pro boxing is an individual sport / business so nationality is not so relevant. Fighters fight for themselves and basically if I like their character and style I will root for them. After the humble hype train started in full flow, I felt nauseous and have wanted him to get chinned ever since and including the Dillian Whyte fight.

Who would you want to win if they fought - Tyson Fury or Anthony Joshua?

I get the idea that Joshua may be faking his humble guy thing to an extent, but it just seems like sensible behaviour. If you act the way you do in private in every context a lot of people are going to think you're a dickhead. Joshua largely says nothing controversial, largely does nothing controversial, but all that leads to (in my opinion), is that he's a bit of a average, perhaps fairly dull guy. I've no doubt his team have probably media trained him, but I don't see that as being reason to hate him, which some clearly do.

It reminds me of Lewis to an extent. He became a great and you barely meet any UK boxing fans who disliked him, but he was loathed for a long period of time, for every reason you could name; not a real Brit, not as nice a guy as Bruno, boring in and out of the ring, thinking he was better than he was, aloof, only interested in money, not enough time in the UK vs USA, chinny.

Now obviously Joshua is nowhere near the stature of Lewis and probably never will be, but I do wonder about what is making someone see a young, exciting guy who is without question the biggest attraction in domestic boxing to have debuted in the last decade, and think 'I hope this guy gets chinned.'

The reason I mention Fury is that he genuinely has said things that I can understand cause people to loathe him. And it often seems if someone dislikes one, they like the other. But I've definitely had conversations with people who openly admit they hope Wlad annihilates Joshua because they don't like his 'fake humble' approach, yet give Fury plenty of leeway when it comes to the gays/women nonsense.

Some excellent points.

[boxingknockout]

But Joshua has none of Frank's genuine qualities in my opinion.

Humour me, which qualities are referring to? (Not trolling)

Honesty.
Genuineness.
(Naive) humour.
Like ability.

Not sure those are all words, but I'm sure you catch the drift

[freddydoesdallas]

I keep changing my mind on this. Part of me thinks wlad is too wise to let a raw heavy just walk through him. Can't see wlad taking a clean, big shot early on. He'll be waiting to tie him up, lean on him etc and tired him out.

If he can do that for 4 rounds then I think he can win. If he struggles there then he has to go big early which will suit Joshua and make him a favourite.

A very interesting fight

[wesshaw1985]

countdown is now on...

[Rob3_142]

I keep changing my mind on this. Part of me thinks wlad is too wise to let a raw heavy just walk through him. Can't see wlad taking a clean, big shot early on. He'll be waiting to tie him up, lean on him etc and tired him out.

If he can do that for 4 rounds then I think he can win. If he struggles there then he has to go big early which will suit Joshua and make him a favourite.

A very interesting fight

Definitely agree this is an interesting fight, but I do not believe that Wlad will be able to lean in on Joshua. We're talking about a young, powerful fighter who I doubt anyone in the industry could bully.

[freddydoesdallas]

I keep changing my mind on this. Part of me thinks wlad is too wise to let a raw heavy just walk through him. Can't see wlad taking a clean, big shot early on. He'll be waiting to tie him up, lean on him etc and tired him out.

If he can do that for 4 rounds then I think he can win. If he struggles there then he has to go big early which will suit Joshua and make him a favourite.

A very interesting fight

Definitely agree this is an interesting fight, but I do not believe that Wlad will be able to lean in on Joshua. We're talking about a young, powerful fighter who I doubt anyone in the industry could bully.

My only thoughts are around how he'll cope with it. He's never had to deal with this as a pro and we know Wlad is a crafty fella. If he can try and do that knowing how much energy he'll expend hoping that it'll be energy Joshua hadn't planned on expending.

If he'd faced a couple of better opponents who tried that and he got through, I wouldn't be doubting him in this area

[afcpaul]

AJ.
Nervous start by both, AJ taking over 4 or 5. AJ KO in 6, 7 or 8. His power doing Klitschko in these rounds. If Klitschko's can handle this (I think he can't) he will take over and win unanimous on points.

[Rob3_142]

I keep changing my mind on this. Part of me thinks wlad is too wise to let a raw heavy just walk through him. Can't see wlad taking a clean, big shot early on. He'll be waiting to tie him up, lean on him etc and tired him out.

If he can do that for 4 rounds then I think he can win. If he struggles there then he has to go big early which will suit Joshua and make him a favourite.

A very interesting fight

Definitely agree this is an interesting fight, but I do not believe that Wlad will be able to lean in on Joshua. We're talking about a young, powerful fighter who I doubt anyone in the industry could bully.

My only thoughts are around how he'll cope with it. He's never had to deal with this as a pro and we know Wlad is a crafty fella. If he can try and do that knowing how much energy he'll expend hoping that it'll be energy Joshua hadn't planned on expending.

If he'd faced a couple of better opponents who tried that and he got through, I wouldn't be doubting him in this area

Actually, after thinking about this a bit more, I think Joshua will be pleased enough to keep things at his range. If Wlad looks to close the distance back, I'm pretty certain Joshua will have no problem in letting his hands go.

If Wlad does manage to tie Joshua up, I'm also pretty convinced Joshua will be happy to take the fight on the inside. I really don't think Wlad will want to take the fight on the inside unless he wants to have a slugfest with Joshua.

[Oiky]

I think it all comes down to how much wlad had left in the tank

I think it will be rather cagey for 4-5rnds, but I can't see at any point wlad being able to bully josh.

I'm banking on klitschko being of the mindset that he is very angry about what happened to him in the fury fight & he wants to prove he's still got a sensible level of fight left in him, so his having a real point to prove that he's not washed up and ready for easy pickings for an up and coming young heavy who's still hasn't really fought anybody to make much noise about, will be the motivation factor for wlad behind this fight but I can just see josh throwing the 1s and 2s for a few rnds and then upping the ante & smashing klitschkos face right in for him.

I want wlad to beat josh, but I can't see it, but it is an interesting fight, you can't count wlad out completely

[wesshaw1985]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnkk6EFAwY4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhNNAJK_WOY

[Oiky]

Kills me to say it, but I have to be honest, Josh KO. I'd say KO by round 6.

I think it'll be a cagey start with both trying to work each other out, I think Josh will be respecting the fact that Wlad clearly still has a dig on him, if he can get it off, and Josh won't want to be getting KOed at a stage in his career where he probably feels he is finally ready for his coming out party and onto better things.

However WK after being embarassed by Fury may be training like an animal and working on all kinds of tactics and looking within himself to see what he hasn't worked on so much before, and possibly neglected, and at this point WK might very well be treating this as the most important fight of his life, as he doesn't want to become cannon fodder for an up and coming young HW who hasn't yet done anything to warrant the adulation he gets everywhere. So don't sleep on WK totally, he may just suprise the hell out of us all, he may box out of his skin in a way we've never seen him do before, it clearly eats him up losing all his belts and that people think he's "done", which to be fair, he may very well be, he didn't set the world alight vs. Jennings did he, and Jennings is no dangerous opponent himself. But a man with a point to prove can be very dangerous and WK is clearly more driven to win this fight than he has been in ages.

He wilted via mind games even before he boxed Fury, and there is none of this in this fight, he seems back to trying to pull his old tricks, so I'm hoping WK can drag the performance of his life out of himself and show Josh he can't just waltz into the ring and expect to beat him like he's a journeyman.

My heart says WK but my head says Josh will KO WK and I think thats the sensible option.

[TheLeprechaun]

Please use shorter sentences people. Very hard to read some posts.

I thought Wlad, now I think Joshua. Wlad will try outbox him but he will have trouble with Joshua's long 1-2s and he won't be able to clinch

[handsofstone]

Joshua wins this for me via KO, I know he's got a completely different style from Fury but I still reckon he's all wrong for Klitschko as Wlad looks vulnerable to a lot of styles, even Wlad's title reign has been filled with sub par performances then he'd come back with an explosive performance, the last one being Pulev so I suppose there is always a chance Wlad comes back fresh from the time off and old mans AJ, if he lands that straight right down the pipe then AJ's in trouble

But in all honesty even before Wlad lost to Fury ive felt Joshua has his number, too quick, strong and hits too hard, Klitschko's conventional style wont be able to deal with the explosiveness Anthony brings, I think it will be a cautious fight as ever from Wlad waiting for openings to throw the jab but Joshua's side to side head movement will make Klit reluctant to throw jabs let alone right hands, Klitschko showed in the last round against Fury he can still pill the trigger when he has someone in trouble so its definitely still in there for him, its just a matter of coaxing it out and I just don't think his style or mentality will allow him to press form his own openings, especially against someone as dangerous as Joshua

TBH though I'm struggling to choose how Joshua wins, I suspect both guys will look to have a look but Klitschko can be KO'd early and Joshua loves ending fights early so if he wobbles Klitschko then it could be a 1-3 job, I'll go for Joshua in 6 though, an overly reluctant Klitschko too scared to engage whilst Joshua finds his range, I don't think AJ will be in any great hurry to end things early but once he gets to work I don't think Wlad can live with what he brings and Joshua will KO him in style

[youngrell]

The biggest factor in the fight for me is that Wlad won't be able to tie Joshua up and hold/lean like he has so many times to smaller, weaker opponents in the past.

Without this advantage, I think Wlad struggles with Joshua's speed, accuracy and power.

I'm hoping Wlad can take it to at least the half way stage, though, so we get to see how Joshua handles being hit hard.

[Loftgroov]

Now obviously Joshua is nowhere near the stature of Lewis and probably never will be, but I do wonder about what is making someone see a young, exciting guy who is without question the biggest attraction in domestic boxing to have debuted in the last decade, and think 'I hope this guy gets chinned.'

Tall poppy syndrome, simple as that - something the British have turned into an art form. If someone is good looking, rich and successful there is usually a desire to see them toppled.

We can much better accept someone not so good looking, uneducated and living in a trailer.

[Covfefe]

The biggest factor in the fight for me is that Wlad won't be able to tie Joshua up and hold/lean like he has so many times to smaller, weaker opponents in the past.

Without this advantage, I think Wlad struggles with Joshua's speed, accuracy and power.

I'm hoping Wlad can take it to at least the half way stage, though, so we get to see how Joshua handles being hit hard.

I agree. Wlad has for years been able to dictate the pace with his strength, it'll be interesting to see how he copes having to fight more if he can't wrestle Joshua.

[samwbr]

A big 1-2 from Joshua will end it all in the 5th round. Wlad wont be able to keep him away. Youth and speed will prevail.

[youngrell]

The biggest factor in the fight for me is that Wlad won't be able to tie Joshua up and hold/lean like he has so many times to smaller, weaker opponents in the past.

Without this advantage, I think Wlad struggles with Joshua's speed, accuracy and power.

I'm hoping Wlad can take it to at least the half way stage, though, so we get to see how Joshua handles being hit hard.

I agree. Wlad has for years been able to dictate the pace with his strength, it'll be interesting to see how he copes having to fight more if he can't wrestle Joshua.

It will be interesting. It could even be a positive for him, because I'm sure we've all felt he could do more damage if he'd opened up a little more over the years.

When you look back at his losses, they seem to be more stamina issues when dealing with adversity rather than a pure glass chin, like Khan for instance.