Who, in boxing history, can demolish Anthony Joshua?

[KiwiRider]

I think he's got a chance against any of threm.

There are a few that I think would find a way to beat h im.

Foreman and Joshua is a 50/50 in my mind.....Holmes beats him, Lewis is a good bet, Ali would devise a plan that would outpoint him. I think he has a better than even chance against Liston and Tyson. Not sure I'd bet on a Holyfield encounter. IF this is his peak, then the K bros are good bets to beat him.....if he continues to improve.....then these odds shift a bit.

The smaller Heavyweights that were great would have a lot of work cut out for them. The Dempseys, Marciano's G.T and such. Hard to imagine them being able to deal with his size and abilities. I would favor him there.

I think he has to be careful against Wilder...but I'd favor Joshua.

The idea that "he's the best that's ever been" is a stretch to my way of thinking.

Mate, you saved me a heap of typing there thanks.
Totally agree with all on the first paragraph.
Some of the smaller HWs would best AJ. Remember these are guys who fought 15+ rounds. AJ just ain't in the right sort of shape to hang with them

[Nile4000]

At his best, Greg Page could.

[Jmangho]

I gotta be honest... I think Foreman would absolutely demolish him, he hits harder then anyone, and had decent speed in his younger days.

Anthony Joshua is one of the best boxers ever, but Foreman would knock his lights out.

[Kalan]

LOL... Grege Page??? A guy who lost to about everybody and didn't give a damn about anything... He got in shape for Coetzee and fought a great fight.. For about eveybody else he was fat or something else was wrong with him... George Foreman tained hard as a youngster, but he had no commitment to learning how to box until he was 38..That's too late... It took him 10 years of thought to figure out what went wrong against Jimmy Young.

It's like Buster Douglas, who WAS a good boxer.. Page had NO commitment to Boxing other than an odd fight.. Buster had a commitment to train for Tyson because he knew he could beat him if his conditioning was good... Then he'd have a valuable asset that could make him many millions... He then straight away fell off the rails... That's a lottery shot mentality.

It's the wrong attitude... Joshua isn't thinking millions, he's beyond that... He's thinking Billions..

[Kalan]

I gotta be honest... I think Foreman would absolutely demolish him, he hits harder then anyone, and had decent speed in his younger days.

Anthony Joshua is one of the best boxers ever, but Foreman would knock his lights out.

So AJ is one of the best boxers in History -- which makes him better than Jimmy Young -- but Foreman beats him???

There's some dust in the gears there... That doesn't compute... How many times was Foreman been knocked down? .... 4 times? .... Who was the lightest hitter to floor George??? Jimmy Young, a guy who couldn't beat Ossie Ocasio in 2 tries.. No Ali-Foreman rematch either -- cuz George fled the scene for 10 years.

Nobody can tell me Young lacked the speed, cleverness, and skills to beat Ossie Ocasio.. That kid had 11 fights.. Maybe Jimmy didn't want to fight Larry Holmes.. Sometimes negative thoughts invade your subconscious....you don't realize it... Your reward for beating a beatable kid is a fight with a man who might kick your ass all over the ring... You're still going to try your best to win the Eliminator, but for some reason you're flat.. Your training didn't go as well as you hoped.. At the end of 10 rounds - Eliminators are 12 rounds so they made things easy as possible - the scores are tallied and a green Cruiserweight gets the nod to fight Holmes... No Holmes vs Young.

There were a lot of temptations in those days and there still are today.. Joshua has already been exposed to recreational drugs, sex, and underground networks selling whatever.. He's been there.. He's not going to get sidetracked by temptations or the easy life.. He's so easy going, like Foreman, people think Joshua is soft.. He's not.. He's like Mayweather in a sense that he likes to control everything around him.. He takes a lot on himself and he's extremely disciplined.

Foreman had great business acumen as he got older... He knew public perception and image was everything... Joshua already has that same maturity... He's already building the image... The most important edge he holds over Wilder is mental... Things are really accelerating in the Heavyweight Division - and Joshua will emerge on top.

[MrGuy]

You're living in a Fantasy Land where the only good Heavyweights fought in the 70's.... You'll never see Joshua eat jabs like Foreman did... You'll never see him get knocked down by a feather hitter who weighs 211 - who couldn't beat a Cruiserweight... Young already had 5 losses going into the Foreman fight... Foreman was a massive favorite.

George was so embarrassed he quit the ring for 10 years after losing that fight.

Never said all the greats were from the 70s. Nonsense to think Joshua is an ATG or even great right now. Possibly the best ever? Based on what? Prime Foreman doesnt struggle against an old or even young Wlad.

[Matt the Master]

AJ is a work in progress still, too early to definitively say who he'd beat and who he wouldn't. All the other fighters mentioned had a career that played out so you can point to fights where they struggled or lost to support your theories.

His only, by historical standards, good opponent had him on the floor and gassed but he showed heart to turn it around. So he has ticked some boxes but until we know the measure of the man it's hard to say.

And the one that had him down and gassed was in his 40's.

And the man in his 40's that had him down and gassed was also one of the most consummate fit and active athletes in the history of the sport, trained day in day out in perennially great shape, you could argue that point if it was David Haye or even Lennox Lewis, but Wladimir was fitter at 40 than most are in their 30's, that's why I hate it when people try to discredit AJ's win over an ex super champion, because AJ simply beat him because he was the superior fighter !

[Matt the Master]

Jack Johnson had the strength, enough height, and maybe could have befuddled AJ if he could get under his skin, he was also a mean and spiteful puncher, game as they come, and had a massive point to prove in that era, of course times have changed and AJ is rightfully embraced by the boxing public, but he has very different motivations than Jack had, Jack Johnson's will was legendary and once followed the champion of the time Tommy Burns all over the world to New Zealand (or was it Australia, someone correct me) to whoop his ass and become the first ever black Heavyweight champion of the world, he was also great at fighting on the inside and especially at tying folks up, he would have leaned his almost as big frame on AJ for long periods of the fight, another I would go for is a prime Brown Bomber Joe Louis !

[Kalan]

You're living in a Fantasy Land where the only good Heavyweights fought in the 70's.... You'll never see Joshua eat jabs like Foreman did... You'll never see him get knocked down by a feather hitter who weighs 211 - who couldn't beat a Cruiserweight... Young already had 5 losses going into the Foreman fight... Foreman was a massive favorite.

George was so embarrassed he quit the ring for 10 years after losing that fight.

Never said all the greats were from the 70s. Nonsense to think Joshua is an ATG or even great right now. Possibly the best ever? Based on what? Prime Foreman doesnt struggle against an old or even young Wlad.

Forget young Wladimir when he had had 100 technical problems... Let's talk about PEAK Wladimir when he was 30-something and coached by Steward .... Foreman gets jabbed to death by peak Wladimir, who destroyed Brock, Chambers, Pulev, Byrd, Austin, Tompson, Chagaev, Peter, etc..... Wladimir was 10 X better than the feather punching, 18 losses Young, who beat Foreman

[MrGuy]

You're living in a Fantasy Land where the only good Heavyweights fought in the 70's.... You'll never see Joshua eat jabs like Foreman did... You'll never see him get knocked down by a feather hitter who weighs 211 - who couldn't beat a Cruiserweight... Young already had 5 losses going into the Foreman fight... Foreman was a massive favorite.

George was so embarrassed he quit the ring for 10 years after losing that fight.

Never said all the greats were from the 70s. Nonsense to think Joshua is an ATG or even great right now. Possibly the best ever? Based on what? Prime Foreman doesnt struggle against an old or even young Wlad.

Forget young Wladimir when he had had 100 technical problems... Let's talk about PEAK Wladimir when he was 30-something and coached by Steward .... Foreman gets jabbed to death by peak Wladimir, who destroyed Brock, Chambers, Pulev, Byrd, Austin, Tompson, Chagaev, Peter, etc..... Wladimir was 10 X better than the feather punching, 18 losses Young, who beat Foreman

Wlad was well into his career still getting starched. Steward fixed nothing. He simply had him grab and ride his opponent around the ring, whenever they tried to hit him back. That version has a chance against Foreman. In a real fight he gets as Tony Soprano says.........whacked. Young at his best was much better than the nondescript fighters Wlad got poleaxed by.

[Crease]

Joshua has the height and range on those guys... He reaches them very easily...

You are underestimating how difficult it is to punch downward, especially if you're punching down 4 or 5 inches, it's hard to put power in them without loading them up.

Dempsey & Tyson's side-to-side style would move around AJ's jabs and his rights. Frazier enjoyed the challenge of dismissing a jab. But I think that Marciano with his crouching, leaning forward and to the right style would be very awkward for AJ.

Marciano would in essence be on the outside of AJ's jab then ducking forward, would slip below it and come up on the inside for his favoured in-fighting. AJ might actually be in fact, too big and too heavy to get out of the way of the barrages.

[gilgamesh]

AJ is a work in progress still, too early to definitively say who he'd beat and who he wouldn't. All the other fighters mentioned had a career that played out so you can point to fights where they struggled or lost to support your theories.

His only, by historical standards, good opponent had him on the floor and gassed but he showed heart to turn it around. So he has ticked some boxes but until we know the measure of the man it's hard to say.

And the one that had him down and gassed was in his 40's.

And the man in his 40's that had him down and gassed was also one of the most consummate fit and active athletes in the history of the sport, trained day in day out in perennially great shape, you could argue that point if it was David Haye or even Lennox Lewis, but Wladimir was fitter at 40 than most are in their 30's, that's why I hate it when people try to discredit AJ's win over an ex super champion, because AJ simply beat him because he was the superior fighter !

I didn't discredit his victory at all, but I don't think it's unfair to say that he could potentially meet a more dangerous opponent before his career is out simply by the virtue of said opponent being in his physical prime still.

[Kalan]

Joshua has the height and range on those guys... He reaches them very easily...

You are underestimating how difficult it is to punch downward, especially if you're punching down 4 or 5 inches, it's hard to put power in them without loading them up.

Dempsey & Tyson's side-to-side style would move around AJ's jabs and his rights. Frazier enjoyed the challenge of dismissing a jab. But I think that Marciano with his crouching, leaning forward and to the right style would be very awkward for AJ.

Marciano would in essence be on the outside of AJ's jab then ducking forward, would slip below it and come up on the inside for his favoured in-fighting. AJ might actually be in fact, too big and too heavy to get out of the way of the barrages.

Ridiculous nonsense... Joshua shittcanned tons of short Heavyweights... It's the Foreman-Frazier thing... Big, tall dynamite punchers take out little short guys... The little guy has no choice... He has to move threw a storm of punches to get you.

Anyone who's boxed at any competitive level knows it's far easier to punch down at a shorter opponent than it is to reach a taller opponent with a longer reach.... If you have coordination, balance, and athleticism both can be done....but punching down is FAR easier... You can reach opponents at distances where they CAN'T reach you -- and it's much easier to dance and step around the ring maintaining your distance -- than it is to charge through a hailstorm of punches...

If you don't believe this watch Lewis vs Tua... Hearns vs Duran... Cassius Clay vs Archie Moore....

Now it's very true that Mike Tyson beat a lot of big, tall men who couldn't fight that well... Mike was an ATG Heavyweight... But it's no coincidence that ALL the guys who kicked Tyson's ass were SUBSTANTIALLY taller than Mike was, even short Holyfield... Lets begin with 6'4" X 232 Buster Douglas who was a 42 to 1 underdog... Douglas said he was going beat Tyson's ass "something terrible" .... Why was Buster so confident???

Douglas knew he was much bigger, taller, and rangier... Douglas didn't often train hard and wasn't a very motivated guy... But when he got the chance of a lifetime he just knew he could beat a little short guy... He knew he had skills... He had ZERO problems punching down at Tyson.... Mike had MUCHO problems reaching the much bigger and taller Douglas.

I've boxed with tons of guys who were 5'9" to 6'3" and I've boxed with a few guys who were 6'5" to 6'8" .... There's not too many of them and believe me it's no fun... If a guy is quick and has good skills it's very difficult to reach him if he's much taller and rangier than you... Those guys come into the gym and their sparring partners disappear... "Where the Hell is Luke??" .... "He just called in... He has a sore throat... He might be out for a week he said."

[Ambling Alp II]

And the one that had him down and gassed was in his 40's.

And the man in his 40's that had him down and gassed was also one of the most consummate fit and active athletes in the history of the sport, trained day in day out in perennially great shape, you could argue that point if it was David Haye or even Lennox Lewis, but Wladimir was fitter at 40 than most are in their 30's, that's why I hate it when people try to discredit AJ's win over an ex super champion, because AJ simply beat him because he was the superior fighter !

I didn't discredit his victory at all, but I don't think it's unfair to say that he could potentially meet a more dangerous opponent before his career is out simply by the virtue of said opponent being in his physical prime still.

Fittest? The guy had no stamina. That is one reason why he had to fight at such a slow pace.
His biggest win was against a senior citizen with no chin and he got decked in the process.
So yes, it should it be "discredited".

[Nile4000]

Page had some experience and sucess of dealing with guys 6'6" and up. And the Coetzee win wasn't a great fight, he just had the skills to take Gerrie. Any version of Page after 1985 is not legit.

[HomicideHenry]

I don't think he understands that styles absolutely make fights. Boxing isn't a logical sport where A will get you to B. Just because Foreman beat Frazier and Norton didn't mean he could beat Ali, just because they beat Ali. Different strategies and angles present great problems for some more than others. Stylistically I'd say Wilder's got a better shot at Fury than Joshua, but I think Fury can beat Joshua. It takes the unorthodox to beat the unorthodox, otherwise we'd see typical boxers beating guys like Wilder and Fury and so far nobody has. Joshua is a typical boxer but his punching power and resolve is such that he can overcome the unorthodoxy of Wilder, but I don't think he can overcome Fury.

[gilgamesh]

I don't think he understands that styles absolutely make fights. Boxing isn't a logical sport where A will get you to B. Just because Foreman beat Frazier and Norton didn't mean he could beat Ali, just because they beat Ali. Different strategies and angles present great problems for some more than others. Stylistically I'd say Wilder's got a better shot at Fury than Joshua, but I think Fury can beat Joshua. It takes the unorthodox to beat the unorthodox, otherwise we'd see typical boxers beating guys like Wilder and Fury and so far nobody has. Joshua is a typical boxer but his punching power and resolve is such that he can overcome the unorthodoxy of Wilder, but I don't think he can overcome Fury.

They'd both smash Fury.

[HomicideHenry]

I don't think he understands that styles absolutely make fights. Boxing isn't a logical sport where A will get you to B. Just because Foreman beat Frazier and Norton didn't mean he could beat Ali, just because they beat Ali. Different strategies and angles present great problems for some more than others. Stylistically I'd say Wilder's got a better shot at Fury than Joshua, but I think Fury can beat Joshua. It takes the unorthodox to beat the unorthodox, otherwise we'd see typical boxers beating guys like Wilder and Fury and so far nobody has. Joshua is a typical boxer but his punching power and resolve is such that he can overcome the unorthodoxy of Wilder, but I don't think he can overcome Fury.

They'd both smash Fury.

It remains to be seen.

No offense but EVERYONE knows you hate Fury with a passion, so you have a biased opinion, that doesn't go into details as to how and why, other than you continuously saying, "Fury is just a lazy fat fornicate who was scared of rematching Klitschko, never defended his belts, and he's the worst champion of all time," when that's simply not a good enough answer or reason why Fury would fail against AJ who hit the deck a few times against an older, inactive Klitschko, etc.

[gilgamesh]

I may be highly critical of Fury, but when it comes to who I think will win a fight and why my personal feelings toward the combatants involved never comes into play.

I believe Anthony Joshua would defeat Tyson Fury because he's long enough, strong enough, and has enough pop that he'd take Fury out. Fury shows excellent defense when his opponent isn't throwing anything at him, doubt it'd hold up too well from a steady attack.

Wilder would take Fury out even faster I think because I get the feeling Wilder would go right after him, and be looking to end it early. Joshua would take a more tactical approach.

I'll certainly be watching with curiosity to see how Fury looks when and if he returns. I don't expect his opponent will be of the particularly dangerous variety, but it'll give us all a better idea of whether or not he'd be able to return to his previous form (or anywhere near it) again.

[Kalan]

And the man in his 40's that had him down and gassed was also one of the most consummate fit and active athletes in the history of the sport, trained day in day out in perennially great shape, you could argue that point if it was David Haye or even Lennox Lewis, but Wladimir was fitter at 40 than most are in their 30's, that's why I hate it when people try to discredit AJ's win over an ex super champion, because AJ simply beat him because he was the superior fighter !

I didn't discredit his victory at all, but I don't think it's unfair to say that he could potentially meet a more dangerous opponent before his career is out simply by the virtue of said opponent being in his physical prime still.

Fittest? The guy had no stamina. That is one reason why he had to fight at such a slow pace.
His biggest win was against a senior citizen with no chin and he got decked in the process.
So yes, it should it be "discredited".

Ridiculous BS... Nobody can sustain Joshua's pace. Eventually they start running like Wladimir did in the 11th. Wlad was in the best condition of his life and he was out of gas... Joshua wasn't laboring... He wasn't sloppy like most Heavyweights get in the late rounds... AJ poured on sharp, accurate combinations with Wladimir on the ropes and the referee intervened to save Wladimir's life.. Everybody but Alp the hater considered it one of the greatest Heavyweight Fights of all time.

Now you watched the Fury-Klitschko affair… They were standing there looking at each other.. They could have fought 100 rounds at that pace... You saw Ali-Evangelista that everyone laughed at for it's powder puff punching display… The Williamson-Byrd fight was crime. People demanded their money back... People got so bored and fed up with Dempsey-Gibbons that for amusement a few cowboys hauled the fences down… Lewis-Mavrovic was like watching paint dry... Some of you saw the Ali- Mac Foster sparring session...or watched Ali and Young dawdle along.

You know that when you're watching a Joshua or Wilder fight somebody's going to get hurt.. They'll be going for the kill.. There's a lot of tension and high drama.

We got that with Ali-Frazier 1. Just before the fight you could cut the tension with a knife. But there was a lot of slowing down with Ali resting on the ropes a lot – not doing anything. I think that cost him the fight. Frazier smoked that tactic out by going pitty-pat.. pitty-pat.. pitty-pat.. pitty-pat.. pitty-pat.. pitty-pat.. then when Ali least expected it Smokin’ turned up the power and socked Ali with some good ones..

The left hook in the 15th was worth the price of admission -- cuz Ali cleared the canvas before he landed on his back.. Frazier didn’t follow up or go for the finish.. He was smoked and happily cruised to a decision win.

Decision is a word you might not ever hear in a Joshua fight. It’s possible he’ll be the first Heavyweight Champion to win all his fights by KO if he has 25 or 30 more – because he’ll still be getting better for a long time.

[MrGuy]

Joshua has the height and range on those guys... He reaches them very easily...

You are underestimating how difficult it is to punch downward, especially if you're punching down 4 or 5 inches, it's hard to put power in them without loading them up.

Dempsey & Tyson's side-to-side style would move around AJ's jabs and his rights. Frazier enjoyed the challenge of dismissing a jab. But I think that Marciano with his crouching, leaning forward and to the right style would be very awkward for AJ.

Marciano would in essence be on the outside of AJ's jab then ducking forward, would slip below it and come up on the inside for his favoured in-fighting. AJ might actually be in fact, too big and too heavy to get out of the way of the barrages.

Ridiculous nonsense... Joshua shittcanned tons of short Heavyweights... It's the Foreman-Frazier thing... Big, tall dynamite punchers take out little short guys... The little guy has no choice... He has to move threw a storm of punches to get you.

Anyone who's boxed at any competitive level knows it's far easier to punch down at a shorter opponent than it is to reach a taller opponent with a longer reach.... If you have coordination, balance, and athleticism both can be done....but punching down is FAR easier... You can reach opponents at distances where they CAN'T reach you -- and it's much easier to dance and step around the ring maintaining your distance -- than it is to charge through a hailstorm of punches...

If you don't believe this watch Lewis vs Tua... Hearns vs Duran... Cassius Clay vs Archie Moore....

Now it's very true that Mike Tyson beat a lot of big, tall men who couldn't fight that well... Mike was an ATG Heavyweight... But it's no coincidence that ALL the guys who kicked Tyson's ass were SUBSTANTIALLY taller than Mike was, even short Holyfield... Lets begin with 6'4" X 232 Buster Douglas who was a 42 to 1 underdog... Douglas said he was going beat Tyson's ass "something terrible" .... Why was Buster so confident???

Douglas knew he was much bigger, taller, and rangier... Douglas didn't often train hard and wasn't a very motivated guy... But when he got the chance of a lifetime he just knew he could beat a little short guy... He knew he had skills... He had ZERO problems punching down at Tyson.... Mike had MUCHO problems reaching the much bigger and taller Douglas.

I've boxed with tons of guys who were 5'9" to 6'3" and I've boxed with a few guys who were 6'5" to 6'8" .... There's not too many of them and believe me it's no fun... If a guy is quick and has good skills it's very difficult to reach him if he's much taller and rangier than you... Those guys come into the gym and their sparring partners disappear... "Where the Hell is Luke??" .... "He just called in... He has a sore throat... He might be out for a week he said."

At his height virtually every guy he faced was going to be substantially taller. Name those short heavyweights in the same league as Tyson or Frazier.

[Kalan]

Best short Heavyweights??? ..... There's not enough of them to say who's in their league .... Or enough to rank them.

Maybe 1. David Tua.... 2. Mike Tyson.... 3. Tom Sharkey.... 4. Joe Frazier.... 5. Sam Langford.... 6. Oscar Bonavena... That's a start

[MrGuy]

I don't think he understands that styles absolutely make fights. Boxing isn't a logical sport where A will get you to B. Just because Foreman beat Frazier and Norton didn't mean he could beat Ali, just because they beat Ali. Different strategies and angles present great problems for some more than others. Stylistically I'd say Wilder's got a better shot at Fury than Joshua, but I think Fury can beat Joshua. It takes the unorthodox to beat the unorthodox, otherwise we'd see typical boxers beating guys like Wilder and Fury and so far nobody has. Joshua is a typical boxer but his punching power and resolve is such that he can overcome the unorthodoxy of Wilder, but I don't think he can overcome Fury.

They'd both smash Fury.

[MrGuy]

Best short Heavyweights??? ..... There's not enough of them to say who's in their league .... Or enough to rank them.

Maybe 1. David Tua.... 2. Mike Tyson.... 3. Tom Sharkey.... 4. Joe Frazier.... 5. Sam Langford.... 6. Oscar Bonavena... That's a start

On what planet is Tua above Tyson or Frazier? I never said rank the best. I said rank those short heavyweights, Joshua beat in the same zip code as Tyson or Frazier.

[Crease]

Ridiculous nonsense... Joshua shittcanned tons of short Heavyweights

Short fighters like Paul Butlin? Matt Legg, perhaps? - short guys in other words, of no value and cannot be compared to an ATG like Rocky Marciano.

It's the Foreman-Frazier thing... Big, tall dynamite punchers take out little short guys...

Foreman was 6'3, Frazier was 5'11... AJ is 6'6 and The Rock was 5'10.
So Joshua is bigger than Foreman, Marciano is shorter than Frazier... The differences and the size gap is accentuated.

I've boxed with tons of guys who were 5'9" to 6'3" and I've boxed with a few guys who were 6'5" to 6'8"

I doubt you could box eggs...