Vitali Klitschko said that if he would back he would KO Joshua

[franio]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvKUy-rBiSc
I think in his prime he would destroy Joshua but now it wouldn't be good idea.

[FastestHandsInThewest]

Not even in his prime.

[Kalan]

What are you going to say??? That the man who beat your younger brother would beat you??? Have some sense.. He's going to put down all the problems Joshua presents and see only the opportunities that are there.. I think that's true with any great fighter evaluating another one.. It's different when you're in there.

If he were in the Filipino senate he could take off as much time as he likes... Unfortunately being mayor of a big city is an extremely time consuming job. But if it weren’t he would still would be unwise to tackle Joshua at his age. His brother is pretty damned fast, has really good legs, and Emmanuel Steward trained skills that were among the best. He trained to the point of perfection. He went 11 rounds in a great fight and broke down -- so be happy with that.

[greg]

..I wouldn't attach too much importance to what Vitali said...considering his age and current job, he knows perfectly well he'll never be in the ring again...what else was he supposed to say?

[BitPlayer]

Not even in his prime.

But he was ahead on points when an old unmotivated Lennox Lewis smashed his face to pieces.

[Blodhemn]

Do it then. Make the Brits wet themselves.

[Enlightened-One]

A prime version of Vitali Klitschko beats the current iteration of Anthony Joshua, but the Brit is only at the very early stage of his career and is clearly improving.

So in ten years’ time, AJ may potentially be perceived as a far greater fighter than Dr. Ironfist, but then again, maybe he won’t.

Assuming Vitali was able to make a comeback and he’d be physically fit enough to compete in six months’ time, who on earth would want to pay for the privilege to watch Anthony Joshua to defend his titles against a man that would be almost forty seven years of age that last fought roughly six years ago?

How much credit would AJ deserve to receive to face a fighter that old?

I know the Brit only needs to fárt in order to be lavished with praise and all sorts of hysteria, but come one?

[tiny_acres]

Assuming Vitali was able to make a comeback and he’d be physically fit enough to compete in six months’ time, who on earth would want to pay for the privilege to watch Anthony Joshua to defend his titles against a man that would be almost forty seven years of age that last fought roughly six years ago?

How much credit would AJ deserve to receive to face a fighter that old?

I don't know the brainwashed fan base give him full credit for beating a 41 year old Wlad who hadn't won a fight in 2 years.
I fully expect Joshua to be a dominate champion but people are already calling him an all time great and that is very premature

[jamamb]

A prime version of Vitali Klitschko beats the current iteration of Anthony Joshua, but the Brit is only at the very early stage of his career and is clearly improving.

So in ten years’ time, AJ may potentially be perceived as a far greater fighter than Dr. Ironfist, but then again, maybe he won’t.

Assuming Vitali was able to make a comeback and he’d be physically fit enough to compete in six months’ time, who on earth would want to pay for the privilege to watch Anthony Joshua to defend his titles against a man that would be almost forty seven years of age that last fought roughly six years ago?

How much credit would AJ deserve to receive to face a fighter that old?

I know the Brit only needs to fárt in order to be lavished with praise and all sorts of hysteria, but come one?

aj wouldnt deserve credit. vit way too old and inactive and focused on other things. was also struggling with injury years ago. his body would probably fall apart now in training and sparring.

[Lackeos]

Most fighters have an inflated sense of who they're capable of beating, so it's normal. Having said that, Vitali couldn't beat Joshua right now. I think prime Vitali would be a favorite against the current version of Joshua. May or may not be able to knock him out, because he's hard to wear him down with an accumulation of punches considering that he is rangey and strong, therefore your tactic should be to avoid pressing the action too much.

[Taansend]

Not even in his prime.

But he was ahead on points when an old unmotivated Lennox Lewis smashed his face to pieces.

I was there that night. When Lewis landed 'that' uppercut you could hear/feel it around the arena.

[Noxy]

This is not a big deal. It's what fighters say. Josh will probably be the same in his mid 40s and so on

[paddy chavez]

Vitali would of took AJ out I think , he had a iron jaw was bigger than AJ and a good engine Joshua wouldn't be able to take vitali out late like he did wladimir ..... I'd go vitali KO 9/10th

[Ossyrules]

Vitali way too old and body too shop worn for this toeben be a fight. He takes a beating

[ValMar]

Prime Vitaly (let us say 2003) against recent Joshua would be a very competitive match. Vitaly who struggled with Chisora and Charr, would have no chance against AJ.
I hope that Vitaly will not make fool of himself and destroy his reputation, he is not able to fight against Anthony Joshua and "father time" in the same time..............

[candyslim]

I agree. Very competitive. Vitali knows very well he isn't coming back and that Joshua would destroy him if he did. He's not going to say that though is he, especially as he knows he'll never be expected to back it up?

[Badhusker]

Assuming Vitali was able to make a comeback and he’d be physically fit enough to compete in six months’ time, who on earth would want to pay for the privilege to watch Anthony Joshua to defend his titles against a man that would be almost forty seven years of age that last fought roughly six years ago?

How much credit would AJ deserve to receive to face a fighter that old?

I don't know the brainwashed fan base give him full credit for beating a 41 year old Wlad who hadn't won a fight in 2 years.
I fully expect Joshua to be a dominate champion but people are already calling him an all time great and that is very premature

All Joshua needs to solidify his ATG status would be to add Vitali on his resume. A lot of fans are either fickle or retarded, same as quite a few on this forum. Joshua never would have fought Wlad if Wlad had dominated or KO'd Fury. or was still in his 30's. He didn't even want to fight Ortiz.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

I'm sure Mr. Feather fist has actually became a puncher near 50. Joshua would have a difficult time discerning between Vitali's right hand and aftershave.

[SaadOffTheDeck]

Prime Vitaly (let us say 2003) against recent Joshua would be a very competitive match. Vitaly who struggled with Chisora and Charr, would have no chance against AJ.
I hope that Vitaly will not make fool of himself and destroy his reputation, he is not able to fight against Anthony Joshua and "father time" in the same time..............

He shouldn't have a reputation past the most overrated resume in the history of Boxing. That's probably why he would consider this, a chance to actually accomplish something instead of piggyback off of little bro.

[FastestHandsInThewest]

Not even in his prime.

But he was ahead on points when an old unmotivated Lennox Lewis smashed his face to pieces.

That's Lennox Lewis.

[asdfjkl]

He could still win the WBC title back if he likes to, but beating AJ is impossible nowadays.

[Best Coast]

Prime Vitaly (let us say 2003) against recent Joshua would be a very competitive match. Vitaly who struggled with Chisora and Charr, would have no chance against AJ.
I hope that Vitaly will not make fool of himself and destroy his reputation, he is not able to fight against Anthony Joshua and "father time" in the same time..............

The Vitali that gave Lewis trouble could beat today's Joshua, but consider that AJ has yet to hit his peak. By the time AJ finishes his career he will have surpassed both Klitschkos and could retire undefeated if he doesnt fight past age 32 or so.

[man]

vitali had a weird career. he was more
of a fighter initially than junior, but in the
end the latter had the more impressive
career.

and as much as i think vitali deserved
a rematch against lennox, he lost fair
and square in the end against an aging
opponent while he himself being in his
prime.

right now he has not the shred of a chance
against AJ and everyone knows that. prime
for prime it would be a tough match, but
in the end joshua makes it.

to me anthony has had a flawless career
so far. took the right steps at the right time.
has solid technique and composure and can
dig if needed. the only thing i wonder if they
will bring him down a little in terms of weight.

aside of that: we possibly witness the making
of an ATG10.

[Enlightened-One]

The Vitali that gave Lewis trouble could beat today's Joshua, but consider that AJ has yet to hit his peak. By the time AJ finishes his career he will have surpassed both Klitschkos and could retire undefeated if he doesnt fight past age 32 or so.

I agree with your belief about Anthony Joshua not having yet peaked, but I feel it’s a tad premature to believe that he “will” surpass the accomplishments of the Klitschko brothers at such an early stage of his career.

He has potential, but there is no guarantee that he’ll be able to fulfil it and it’s far too premature to say that he is likely to become a dead-cert first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, which you’re essentially suggesting (assuming you're correct about him almost certainly exceeding the sporting resumes of both Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko).

Let’s just calm down a bit…

[FrankyM]

Would love to see this one.