BoxRec

Joshua, did what was expected last night, demolished the opponent without too much fuss, getting better with each fight, not a stiff as he was, taking half decent operators out with ease, really shows he is going to be at a very good world level pretty soon. But what bothers me is his defence looks worryingly very low! I'm sure he will have won a few more belts even a world belt before that chin is tested properly, which will be then interesting to see how he reacts when it's coming back as much as he is giving it. Who this will be though, if anybody can, is the intriguing bit of his career. Brilliant so far though. Saying that Price was the next big thing a while back after demolishing Skelton and Audley? now look at him?

He looked terrific for a young HW, but the Russian looked a different weight category.
The big question is can he take a decent punch ? Until that's clear it's still 50/50 if he sinks or swims.

I thought he looked good.

He's loosening up with every fight; his short punches were good; he paced himself well & picked his shots brilliantly.

Add in that sinister grin he had almost throughout & he's looking like a menacing prospect in the making.

muffinman85 wrote:He is without doubt improving with each fight; his speed, accuracy and his jab are very impressive; he is becoming less robotic, and is gaining confidence each time I see him. The only question mark for me is his natural power; he has not really flattened an opponent yet or rendered anyone unconscious, rather he overwhelms them with his speed/skill.

Agree with that but I'd also question his untested chin in the Pros. He's looking good at the moment though.

AJ looks pure class at the moment

would really like to see him fight Eddie chambers.

mrbassie wrote:I'm still on the fence, there's definitely more of the Bruno than Lewis about him. Doesn't look as robotic as Bruno but he's not lithe like Lewis was.

Great choice of words, Mr Bassie.

I want him to do well but he does seem more like a big strong man who's boxing rather than a boxer who happens to be big & strong (if you know what I mean).

But he's still learning so we shall see as he develops.

On the plus side his attitude seems spot on. He knows he's learning & is keen to keep doing so. Lewis (of whom I'm a massive fan) shared the same trait as Khan in that he often overlooked the upcoming opponent because of a potentially bigger fight down the road. Joshua seems to take each day as it comes & puts n the hard, very hard, work in the gym.

I'd LOVE to see him against Price. Price comes back in December & if he has another bout in Feb/March then he & Joshua can meet early summer. Anthony could well be 13(13)-0 by then.

But that's just me wanting that fight. I'm sure their respective promoters have other ideas.

Sklar wrote:Joshua is the most exciting heavyweight prospect for over twenty years however...

...some are saying he's already up there with the very best in the division. I disagree with that.

He's an outstanding athlete and offensive force who can put punches together and finish a guy properly BUT he has a lot of learning to do yet to become the finished article. It takes time to learn the dark arts. Over the course of the next 12 months I'd feel confident putting him in with anybody ranked 16 or below in the BoxRec rankings but the Top 15 guys are for 2016 and beyond.

Like the 'it takes time to learn the dark arts' line and a very good point indeed!

I think AJ destroys Price.

Price for me, certainly on the evidence of the 2nd Thompson fight, doesnt have the grit and the mental toughness to battle through adversity.

I just hope AJ isnt the second coming of Pele Reid!

liamlion wrote:I think AJ destroys Price.

Price for me, certainly on the evidence of the 2nd Thompson fight, doesnt have the grit and the mental toughness to battle through adversity.

I just hope AJ isnt the second coming of Pele Reid!

I personally felt that Price's 2nd loss to Thompson was down to him being too tense & not breathing properly rather than any mental deficiencies. He was just spent and looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

Taansend wrote:

liamlion wrote:I think AJ destroys Price.

Price for me, certainly on the evidence of the 2nd Thompson fight, doesnt have the grit and the mental toughness to battle through adversity.

I just hope AJ isnt the second coming of Pele Reid!

I personally felt that Price's 2nd loss to Thompson was down to him being too tense & not breathing properly rather than any mental deficiencies. He was just spent and looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

I know that that was certainly the party line after the fight: he was exhausted.

I think the fact that he couldnt handle the occasion may have contributed to him gassing. That indicates a fragile mentality, perhaps. Too nervous.

But he just didnt really put up a fight and at the end was being slapped about by Thompson in the corner without any resistance. He was stopped on his fee without any concussive blow landing. I dont criticise but i dont see Tyson Fury ever going out like that.

What was AJ's chin like in the ams?

Technically he is still improving but he's not that fluid overall. Nice jab and good straight right but hooks need work. Left hand was low at times which a decent heavy could capitalise on. Far too early ro get carried away with the hype. Needs a test soon or he could risk getting a bully mentality. I think Mcracken/Sims may have taken him as far as they can and he'll be looking at experienced heavyweight trainers soon.

I do find that physique a bit worrying, those huge muscles look good, but if he's forced to fight at a pace then we could see the second coming of Bruno.

It's hard to see how good he is going to be, he can certainly punch, and appears genuinely heavy handed - but against better opposition, he won't find it so easy to land, and will get hit back.

A work in progress, but nothing to get too excited about just yet.

They won't put it in with Price, when you've got a potential GOLDMINE like Joshua, you're not going risk him against a concussive one shot puncher like Price. Unless you're an insane gambler.

Even though he'd be favourite, and just might dispatch the china chinned Liverpudlian fairly quickly ( he looks heavy-handed ) the upside rewards of beating DP are minimal, and just not worth the risk of one punch turning his world upside down.

MightyWarrior wrote:They won't put it in with Price, when you've got a potential GOLDMINE like Joshua, you're not going risk him against a concussive one shot puncher like Price. Unless you're an insane gambler.

Even though he'd be favourite, and just might dispatch the china chinned Liverpudlian fairly quickly ( he looks heavy-handed ) the upside rewards of beating DP are minimal, and just not worth the risk of one punch turning his world upside down.

Yes, Price is to all intents and purposes a busted flush, can see no sense in taking him on, as he's a massive puncher, with a reputation for being chinny. If he batters Price, nobody is impressed, and he runs the risk of getting chinned himself.

Joshua doesn't look to me to have the strongest of jaws, or thickest of necks, and so I wouldn't expect him to hold a shot phenomenally well.

Beauty of it though is no particular head shape or neck size determines how well a fighter can take a shot. It's impossible to tell if a fighter is chinny by just looking at him. theres been many a fighter with squat features and no necks who couldn't take a shot.

liamlion wrote:I know that that was certainly the party line after the fight: he was exhausted.

I think the fact that he couldnt handle the occasion may have contributed to him gassing. That indicates a fragile mentality, perhaps. Too nervous.

But he just didnt really put up a fight and at the end was being slapped about by Thompson in the corner without any resistance. He was stopped on his fee without any concussive blow landing. I dont criticise but i dont see Tyson Fury ever going out like that.

I don't know about any party lines. I leave that to the young uns.

As he was walking to the gym he was tensed up like crazy. I see it as being so desperate to win he wasn't relaxed. Maybe he'll learn from that, maybe he won't. His early blowouts definitely didn't help him & I'd hate to see the same thing happen to Joshua.

Taansend wrote:

liamlion wrote:I think AJ destroys Price.

Price for me, certainly on the evidence of the 2nd Thompson fight, doesnt have the grit and the mental toughness to battle through adversity.

I just hope AJ isnt the second coming of Pele Reid!

I personally felt that Price's 2nd loss to Thompson was down to him being too tense & not breathing properly rather than any mental deficiencies. He was just spent and looked like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

I was watching his fight with Sexton back the other day, and I noticed a similar thing there though. He was breathing really heavily and was actually having to work very little in that fight and yet seemed to be genuinely gassing to a degree which was bizarre. I don't know if it's because he gets so nervous before a fight that he has a mini panic attack in the ring or what.

aj would beat price sprott and towers at the moment...

anyone else worth him fighting?

Price wastes energy when in the ring, lots of unnecessary movement when miles out of range.

Joshua was very good last night in his biggest test.
He has the potential to be great.
I think he would take furys head off his shoulders
destroy del boy very easily,
send David price into retirement.
The only heavyweight in Britian on his level is Haye ( he said this week himself that Haye is Elite level)

Haye and Joshua would be massive if Haye has a few wins

From now on in it is simply going to be a question of pacing and discipline before AJ rules a post Wlad world......

....Hearn's matchmakers need to make the right fights at the right time, push on but don't get too carried away

.....AJ just needs to remain focussed, dedicated and open-minded.

Flump wrote:It's just nice to see a heavyweight in shape who can actually throw more than 6 punches a round without needing a 2 week holiday. Good luck to the guy. If they want safe rounds in the bank then they need to call Kingpin after Sprott.

Wouldn't hurt to get him on a couple of undercards in the states either, splattering what's left of Shannon Briggs would be a low risk fight that would at least create some publicity. As a sporting contest of course it's not exactly something you want to see as Briggs is ancient and will be gassed walking to the ring, but it'll expose Joshua to some interesting pre fight stuff with a nutter.

Briggs is to busy chasing wlad around, eating his food and knocking him off surf boards

If he fought Wilder next do you think he would win? I`m not so sure he would.

I think he`d do Price in a round.

mullenman wrote:Joshua was very good last night in his biggest test.
He has the potential to be great.
I think he would take furys head off his shoulders
destroy del boy very easily,
send David price into retirement.
The only heavyweight in Britian on his level is Haye ( he said this week himself that Haye is Elite level)

Haye and Joshua would be massive if Haye has a few wins

If Haye's still got 80% left his right hand wipes joshua out. Not because Joshua's chin is necessarily bad but because he won't be prepared for the speed and accuracy of it.