What's On My Mind - AJ

[TheGingerBomber]

I'm not the biggest Anthony Joshua fan in Britain, nor am I his biggest believer, but it's quite alarming how many people are dead against him on social media! A lot of sheep seem to follow the trend, which was once to hate Fury pre-Wlad.

Are people's opinions of Hearn/Sky behind the hatred for AJ?

I'd say yes, whilst his personality is dull, it's unique. And his style and in ring presence is a joy to behold....I get there's a lot of Fury fans out there so more than likely they're not supporters of AJ as well, but are we being too harsh or just realistic?

[Rob3_142]

I feel like the general consensus of those that are not fans of Joshua is largely based on him being 'fake'.

I personally am a massive Joshua fan. Both as a fighter and as a person. I like his philosophy, and cannot fault him for what he's been doing over the last 18 months. You can argue that it's a turn off that he's being milked by his management far too much. Too much of anything is a bad thing, and there is a lot of Joshua in the public eye at the moment. But it is fight week - and it is not that surprising.

[KiwiRider]

Joshua's highlight reel for his first 18 fights is as exciting as Tyson's first 18 highlight reel. In my opinion, and I have viewed both recently. That has to be good for boxing, especially the HW division which has had some lacklustre 'entertainment' since Tyson.
Sir Humblelot just taking this fight must garner some respect from his detractors.
The fact there are so many threads and posts either positive or negative on here says this is a big fight, this is a top quality bout.

[coneye]

It is what it is , a big BRITISH BOXER WITH SKILLS AND A PUNCH ,, BEING NURSED ALONG CAREFULLY AND A HIGH PROFILE BEING being built, He has come along at a time when heavyweight boxing really is in the doldrums and is being toted has the next best thing since Tyson -Lewiss ,, Its the job of the promoter to build him up and its his jobe has a fighter to lap it up .. Nothing wrong with all that , what doe suprise me is that this fight is actually happenning now , i personaly thought they would of waited longer .

But if AJ does win this one i think the humble one may change a bit , Hearn has been captain of the ship and steering it where he wants it to go ,, Given AJ wins there may well be a mutiny , and He will captain his own ship Joshua strikes me has a guy who if nothing else , knows his own worth , and is patient

[nitro5912]

On social media you are a casual if you say good things about AJ regardless of how you view fury.

Ive seen people called amateur pundits because someone said AJ would win saturday via KO.

If you like fury apparently you are a true hardcore real boxing fan.

[asdfjkl]

Everybody expected Tyson Fury to lose, and Fury proved them wrong. Everybody expects AJ to win and AJ will probably proof them right. I can fully understand it if people don't like to be proven wrong. On top of that, Fury shows his odd opinion on things that have nothing to do with boxing. He knows beforehand it will be spoken about and people who don't know him and only know his opinion about a discutable subject might disagree and have an opinion about him because of that.

[youngrell]

I think Joshua is a terrific fighter and the whole humble persona doesn't really bother me either.

What I believe winds people up about him is the hype from uneducated media outlets and casual fans who bang on about how much of a beast he is and how he could flatten so and so easily, all the damn time.

Educated fans understand that his level of opposition hasn't been tremendous and they just wanted to see him tested a bit more previously. Prior to Whyte he barely shipped a punch.

All the hype, even if it is warranted and he turns out to be as good as we hope, has left some people hoping to see him come up short so they can finally show to their casual mates what they mean when they talk about him being untested.

I've had many convos with close friends about how I see him losing to certain fighters at this stage and then when he knocks over another B level fighter I get bombarded with messages about the result proving he would smash so and so too.

I think him beating Wlad is the best outcome for the division, but a small part of me would like to see him lose for the above reasons.

[Stuarty]

I like both Fury and AJ as fighters. Outside the ring Tyson I'm a fan of Tyson but the juries still out on AJ. I know there's a big bad ass angry black man in there somewhere itching to get out and cause some chaos

[Ossyrules]

I sometimes think the English like to knock someone off a pedestal, and Joshua's been placed up there. I don't know why, it's kind of a "you ain't so special" mentality I guess. This isn't just boxing, sports general. We seem to love an underdog a lot of times.

To me, if people can't see Joshua is a wrecking ball of a fighter, then they're looking for things to hate. They're letting there personal dislike or bias dictate their thoughts, cos he's clearly a wrecking ball that all heavyweights right now should have concerns about.

As for his personality, people calling him a fake, I don't see it. If people get f*cked off with the humble stuff, they get wound up too easily, it's pretty inoffensive and just trying to stay grounded. Maybe there Whyte fans, Whyte used to go on that he was fake. He doesn't provide the funny moments outside the ring though like fury, chisora or Whyte etc

I don't think you can take a lot of fury fans too seriously when it comes to boxing and especially Joshua. Them guys are some of the most delusional fans ever. And this isn't a hate on fury I don't mind him, but his fan boys, yeah I can leave them

[Tarkus]

Its an age old battle between good and evil. And the social networks will show which side you on.

[Stuffs]

I think people only hate him because they're anti Eddie and Sky.

Personally I don't hate him. However I also don't love him. The complete lack of any personality, and constant repetition of humble cliches just means he's a bit meh. Respect for what he does in the ring, but other than that he's hard to love.

Saturday, I hope he wins. I want all Brits to win on the world stage unless they're of Smith stock.

[SteveDow]

I think he's a very good fighter and very entertaining in the ring which is ultimately what it should be all about.

I, like a lot of people however, can't stand Matchroom as a promotional company and as their biggest fighter a bit of my dislike for them makes me also dislike him. Yes, they would argue that they have brought boxing along in terms of it being really high profile, getting great media coverage etc and in many ways that is true. However, since they have taken over it has become very difficult for fans to get hold of tickets for big events, largely due to their scandalous partnership with Stubhub (who are also conveniently a big "partner" of Joshua), the cards they put on are genuinely pretty shite if we are telling the truth and this ongoing obsession for having a different PPV fight on almost every month is just taking the piss.

[Ossyrules]

I don't actually mind matchroom so much

What's the alternative, having frank pad his fighters records for years before finally letting them off the leash. Matchroom match there fighters more aggressively and earlier in there career. The promotion is good and I think the cards are good I disagree that they're mostly shite

[Rob3_142]

What everyone think of the BBC AJ documentary last night?

I liked it, and shed a little bit more light on Anthony Joshua the person. At the moment he is a global superstar, but is doing everything to stay grounded, or as he puts it, staying humble. Everyone slates the humble thing, but he needs to stay humble, otherwise he could lose the focus and drive to be successful. Be it surrounding himself with normal people (his mates from yesteryear), or staying in modest digs whilst he's in camp. As a sportsperson he is doing everything right, and applying the right discipline and focus on the right things. For this I respect him immensely.

[Rob3_142]

I don't actually mind matchroom so much

What's the alternative, having frank pad his fighters records for years before finally letting them off the leash. Matchroom match there fighters more aggressively and earlier in there career. The promotion is good and I think the cards are good I disagree that they're mostly shite

I like Matchroom too. Their shows on average are entertaining, and so far are the team making the big fights happen. They support their fighters by bringing the big fights to the UK, and are building a good boxing model for the UK. Some don't like where the sport is going by making it a little bit more accessible for the casual fan, as has been the case for darts, but it's bringing more money to the game which in theory brings better fights. I think with the BT backing, BN could make it a level playing field, but they need to make some big events happen, which at the moment they have a poor record of. When was the last time BN put on a massive main event which was internationally relevant? I can't even remember one.

[Stuarty]

I don't actually mind matchroom so much

What's the alternative, having frank pad his fighters records for years before finally letting them off the leash. Matchroom match there fighters more aggressively and earlier in there career. The promotion is good and I think the cards are good I disagree that they're mostly shite

Hearn and Matchroom have realised that bringing in more casuals is the way to success so go all out on promotion and making things seem sexy. I don't have a problem with that. Most of us know what the craic is. Franks still stuck in the dark ages.

[TheGingerBomber]

I like both Fury and AJ as fighters. Outside the ring Tyson I'm a fan of Tyson but the juries still out on AJ. I know there's a big bad ass angry black man in there somewhere itching to get out and cause some chaos

I agree with that, I think we may see that in a future fight at a weigh in maybe, he just needs a crazy opponent.

[TheGingerBomber]

I think people only hate him because they're anti Eddie and Sky.

Personally I don't hate him. However I also don't love him. The complete lack of any personality, and constant repetition of humble cliches just means he's a bit meh. Respect for what he does in the ring, but other than that he's hard to love.

Saturday, I hope he wins. I want all Brits to win on the world stage unless they're of Smith stock.

With you on that hahaha

[Ossyrules]

I don't actually mind matchroom so much

What's the alternative, having frank pad his fighters records for years before finally letting them off the leash. Matchroom match there fighters more aggressively and earlier in there career. The promotion is good and I think the cards are good I disagree that they're mostly shite

Hearn and Matchroom have realised that bringing in more casuals is the way to success so go all out on promotion and making things seem sexy. I don't have a problem with that. Most of us know what the craic is. Franks still stuck in the dark ages.

True, some people just like to moan I think. They go on about how everyone used to know who the heavyweight champion of the world was, and how the boxing stars like eubank and benn were household names etc. Well all that involved casuals cos the whole of England aren't hardcore boxing fans

[Stuarty]

I think people only hate him because they're anti Eddie and Sky.

Personally I don't hate him. However I also don't love him. The complete lack of any personality, and constant repetition of humble cliches just means he's a bit meh. Respect for what he does in the ring, but other than that he's hard to love.

Saturday, I hope he wins. I want all Brits to win on the world stage unless they're of Smith stock.

With you on that hahaha

Same! fornicate they Smith bastards. Think they own British boxing. They're like some sort or NWO of boxing with all their unmerited title shots!

[Stuarty]

I don't actually mind matchroom so much

What's the alternative, having frank pad his fighters records for years before finally letting them off the leash. Matchroom match there fighters more aggressively and earlier in there career. The promotion is good and I think the cards are good I disagree that they're mostly shite

Hearn and Matchroom have realised that bringing in more casuals is the way to success so go all out on promotion and making things seem sexy. I don't have a problem with that. Most of us know what the craic is. Franks still stuck in the dark ages.

True, some people just like to moan I think. They go on about how everyone used to know who the heavyweight champion of the world was, and how the boxing stars like eubank and benn were household names etc. Well all that involved casuals cos the whole of England aren't hardcore boxing fans

The sport needs the casual element and Hearn plays up to that. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing worse than being at an event or in the pub and listening to some of these hard-ons but the sport needs em.

It's the pissed ones who stand up and shadow box that really get me

[TheGingerBomber]

Some good input by you's lot...

My tuppence on Sky's shows being mostly average. I was actually looking forward to Murray vs Rosado, but watched BT instead because I don't have Sky. I know it's not big names or a title fight, but there was an expection of a good fight. Did it deliver?

Seemed like there was a few competitive fights on there to me, better than some of the shit they were delivering when Fielding & the Smith's were on the same card against awful opponents.

And I find it hard to complain about this Saturday, it's undercard is dire but I truly believe Hearn when he says it can't really be helped.

But as for this StubHub shite, it is a concern, I hope Hearn is forced to address it in the future, but I doubt it. I'd be surprised if he's breaking any laws because he knows not to risk anything.

I'll end with what someone commented on FB yesterday. I can't remember directly but a page was referring to AJ in comparison to Mike Tyson and a fella emerged with some dross about boxing being in a bad place....

I think only outsiders could say that!

[Stuarty]

Some good input by you's lot...

My tuppence on Sky's shows being mostly average. I was actually looking forward to Murray vs Rosado, but watched BT instead because I don't have Sky. I know it's not big names or a title fight, but there was an expection of a good fight. Did it deliver?

Seemed like there was a few competitive fights on there to me, better than some of the poo they were delivering when Fielding & the Smith's were on the same card against awful opponents.

And I find it hard to complain about this Saturday, it's undercard is dire but I truly believe Hearn when he says it can't really be helped.

But as for this StubHub shite, it is a concern, I hope Hearn is forced to address it in the future, but I doubt it. I'd be surprised if he's breaking any laws because he knows not to risk anything.

I'll end with what someone commented on FB yesterday. I can't remember directly but a page was referring to AJ in comparison to Mike Tyson and a fella emerged with some dross about boxing being in a bad place....

I think only outsiders could say that!

The stub hub debacle is just legal robbery! Greed in its purest form. Surely selling to them direct, which I have no doubt Hearn is doing (and in massive numbers), should be illegal? As you said though, It won't be anything that'll get him or Matchroom in to bother. It really needs looked at and changes need to be made because they're fleecing the fans at the end of the day.

[cutsman]

There are some really good opinions on this thread.

We do tend to try and knock successful people off their pedestals in the UK. It's not just within sport, but all parts of society. Mainly I think this down to jealousy. When someone has worked hard for their success, it can highlight people's failings and the easy response is to try and bring them down a peg or two instead of working hard themselves.
As Somerset Maugham once said, “Now that I’ve grown old, I realise that for most of us it is not enough to have achieved personal success. One’s best friend must also have failed.”

AJ has undoubtedly worked hard to maximise his potential. Agreed he may not be the most 'interesting' of personalities, but he is certainly interesting when he steps in the ring and surely that is all it should be about ?

[Rob3_142]

Some good input by you's lot...

My tuppence on Sky's shows being mostly average. I was actually looking forward to Murray vs Rosado, but watched BT instead because I don't have Sky. I know it's not big names or a title fight, but there was an expection of a good fight. Did it deliver?

Seemed like there was a few competitive fights on there to me, better than some of the poo they were delivering when Fielding & the Smith's were on the same card against awful opponents.

And I find it hard to complain about this Saturday, it's undercard is dire but I truly believe Hearn when he says it can't really be helped.

But as for this StubHub shite, it is a concern, I hope Hearn is forced to address it in the future, but I doubt it. I'd be surprised if he's breaking any laws because he knows not to risk anything.

I'll end with what someone commented on FB yesterday. I can't remember directly but a page was referring to AJ in comparison to Mike Tyson and a fella emerged with some dross about boxing being in a bad place....

I think only outsiders could say that!

I watched as much of both shows (Sky and BT last Saturday) as I could, and the BT show was much more interesting. BT had 3 really good prospects on showcasing impressive victories, and 1-2 really competitive fights and a good entertaining main event. This could well be the exception than the rule, but if BN/BT continue in this vein, Sky won't have it all their own way. Only thing FW and BN are lacking now is a global superstar. Just depends if they can keep hold of their bigger names, as there's always that lure of the bright lights and big money of Sky.

As far as StubHub goes, I'm still not convinced that Hearn/Matchroom take a % of the tickets sold at inflated prices. I like to take people at face value, as naive as that sounds. I mean what financial gains is there really to be main? Maybe doubling their income from ticket sales? I don't think the Matchroom machine is short of a bob or two. That being said, if I was Hearn, I wouldn't be selling any of my tickets to StubHub knowing full well that people use their website to fleece the public of going to his shows.