HomicideHenry wrote: ↑16 Jun 2019, 05:00
How sure are you about that?
Charles Martin?
Carlos Takam?
Dominic Breazele?
39 Year Old, Off PEDs Povetkin?
Older, Inactive, Passive Klitschko?
The only live wire was Parker, and he may as well have been fighting two guys in the ring that night because the referee kept dicking him around. So we never really saw what would have really went down had Joshua not had the referee in Eddie Hearn's pocket.
He was positioned perfectly to the title. But I'd argue--- like Mike Tyson in the 80s--- if it was anyone else who had beaten those guys, nobody would have given a crap. It was how he won the fights.
Unfortunately, knockouts and bodies are like crack for passionate fans who cannot resist buying into the hype rather than seeing the truth--- there was many unanswered questions about Joshua, and his flaws were visible but nobody had yet capitalized on them.
Boxers, Movers, Stylists, almost never get any credit in this business. They'd rather a Gerry Cooney was champion instead of a Larry Holmes. They'd rather the fighter with the Instagram model body and fake smile to be champion, than the Gypsy who fires jabs and has love handles. They'd rather a guy who looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy as champion, just because he throws hooks, instead of the guy who is a thinking fighter.
It's not unlike how many people here on BoxRec were mightily upset Canelo lost to Floyd Mayweather or Hatton losing to Mayweather. "We don't want the master boxer, we want the banger." It's a thankless job fighting scientifically.
You can spin Joshua's opponents anyway you want, but if you look hard enough you could pose the same questions/points for any of Fury's or Wilder's opponents. In a shallow division, Joshua has the best resume, without question.
Nobody takes Fury's wins/performance against Klitschko and Wilder, but we would have all loved to see the Klitschko rematch which never happened, and we all wait with bated breath for the Wilder rematch (which was originally shelved because of Fury).
One thing you just have to accept is this is not just about pure sport. This is about marketing a product to an audience. It is always going to be easier to sell the Joshua v Klitschko fight than the Fury v Klitschko fight. When you're selling PPVs, one will simply sell better than the other.
Yes, we all love the fresh perspective of Fury. But let us not forget the 3 years of inactivity (which damaged the division) and the absolute tripe he was spouting before he decided to bin the boxing (which damaged his own reputation). There is collateral damage to his actions, and they have to be accepted.
The belts are nothing more than trinkets... a ploy by promoters and organizations just to make money and run a monopoly on an already corrupt business. 