Joshua KO's Gavern. K. Johnson next. Looking buff as ****!

[klitoris]

So AJ blew out Gavern as expected. Johnson should give him rounds.

What I noticed that really struck me is how freakin buffed AJ is. He went in into this fight at 244 and it seems like he is basically all muscle. Those legs look damn skinny too. It seems like he has too much upper body weight. Another 4-5 pounds and he gonna be looking like Arnold out there. I think he's trying to reach Klitschko's mid 240s too quickly.

[diddy]

Really want to see Joshua-Wilder. Boner worthy fight.

[tiny_acres]

I just want to see Joshua in with a guy with a pulse.
He looks to have all the talent in the world.But it does not take a lot to look great
against such limited opposition.

[ikorolev]

So AJ blew out Gavern as expected. Johnson should give him rounds.

What I noticed that really struck me is how freakin buffed AJ is. He went in into this fight at 244 and it seems like he is basically all muscle. Those legs look damn skinny too. It seems like he has too much upper body weight. Another 4-5 pounds and he gonna be looking like Arnold out there. I think he's trying to reach Klitschko's mid 240s too quickly.

Yep, too much muscle can make him stiff if already hasn't.

[lillywhite14]

His legs are too skinny? I don't think they look skinny at all.

I think he is possibly a little too heavy but we shall see. No more Gavern types for him now. Has to be moved on. Hopefully Johnson will give him a few rounds and ask am es questions. After that, someone who comes to win.

[Ian1973]

His legs are too skinny? I don't think they look skinny at all.

I think he is possibly a little too heavy but we shall see. No more Gavern types for him now. Has to be moved on. Hopefully Johnson will give him a few rounds and ask am es questions. After that, someone who comes to win.

Johnson is what 6 foot 1? Yet another opponent that Joshua is significantly bigger than.

[Cutman Scabbers]

Interesting fight only because Johnson's never been stopped, and Joshua's never not stopped anyone.

[ReggieDiggs]

Definitely the most compelling HW prospect around right now. For a HW prospect they are moving him like he's got terminal cancer with being only 18mos in his career & 25 years old. Maybe I'm overhyping Kevin Johnson though...I mean Christian Hammer beat him recently so that isn't that big a deal if/when Anthony does the same. Still should be interesting to see Anthony, who's not been past the 7:30 mark of a fight vs Kevin, who's not been stopped (not even by Vitali, although thats been awhile).

[Taansend]

Definitely the most compelling HW prospect around right now. For a HW prospect they are moving him like he's got terminal cancer with being only 18mos in his career & 25 years old. Maybe I'm overhyping Kevin Johnson though...I mean Christian Hammer beat him recently so that isn't that big a deal if/when Anthony does the same. Still should be interesting to see Anthony, who's not been past the 7:30 mark of a fight vs Kevin, who's not been stopped (not even by Vitali, although thats been awhile).

Funny, I was thinking the same about Kovalev Cleverly/Hopkins and Wilder Stiverne.

I'm staying out of this one.

[tiny_acres]

Controversial thoughts of the day…

• Anthony Joshua’s heavily-muscled physique is ultimately (in the long-term) going to become more of a hindrance than a strength
• Despite his enormous potential, AJ really hasn’t shown that many signs of improvement over the course of his eleven pro fights, because he continues to adopt a seek & destroy approach against his over-matched opponents… and usually prefers to refrain from employing a fundamentally sound style, as he doesn’t work behind the jab nor can he be considered defensively responsible
• It’s time for Eddie Hearn to invest in his charge and match Anthony Joshua up with opponents that are capable of posing a legitimate threat to his unbeaten record, such as Dereck Chisora or David Price. I’m not being funny, but it’s pretty bad that AJ’s last ten opponents have tasted defeat an average of 11.1 times prior to sharing the ring with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that Anthony Joshua has enormous potential and could one day become the heavyweight champion of the world, but something about him at the moment doesn’t seem quite right… and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

I feel the same way.I can not quite figure out why I feel it is not right with him.
I could just be skeptical of any heavy that shows talent these days

[Tony1244]

I believe this is only Joshua's 2nd full year. I think he is right on track. His fight with The Kingpin should answer some questions. If Anthony has to go the distance, that's ok, but he has to win the fight by virtual shutdown to remain a serious prospect. I didn't see his new physique yet, but as long as he has recovered from his injury, keeps fighting and moving up, and most importantly wins rounds - he is on track.

[JC]

I like him and think he has huge potential, I'm not sure they've got him the right trainer to make him the finished article though. Time will tell.

[Ronthetruth]

Likewise do worry aj may become a tad muscle bound (bit like frank Bruno)!
Kingpin fight coming at the right time as is becoming boring watching him pummel current level of opponents!
Want to see him fight someone with a bit of height too

[expe]

His legs are too skinny? I don't think they look skinny at all.

I think he is possibly a little too heavy but we shall see. No more Gavern types for him now. Has to be moved on. Hopefully Johnson will give him a few rounds and ask am es questions. After that, someone who comes to win.

Another one coming up in Birmingham on May 9th.

[Lackeos]

Kevin Johnson and his supreme survival abilities will be a relevant test to Joshua's ability to stop opponents as well as his ability to hang in the late rounds. It is a reasonable step along the way to where he is going, and less than two months after his last fight, it leaves little to complain about. If anything, the Jason Gavern fight was a waste of time, but this one is worthwhile.

[the_doctor]

Controversial thoughts of the day…

• It’s time for Eddie Hearn to invest in his charge and match Anthony Joshua up with opponents that are capable of posing a legitimate threat to his unbeaten record, such as Dereck Chisora or David Price. I’m not being funny, but it’s pretty bad that AJ’s last ten opponents have tasted defeat an average of 11.1 times prior to sharing the ring with him.

Your maths is a little off I think, I make the average record of his first 10 as 16-8. Just for comparison:

Fury 11-8
Wilder 3-3
Wlad 8-9
Povetkin 11-5

So that suggests he's roughly in line with the current crop of top heavyweights. The difference is the hype surrounding him and he's been headlining shows, while the quality of the opposition would be better suited further down the cards.

[the_doctor]

Controversial thoughts of the day…

• It’s time for Eddie Hearn to invest in his charge and match Anthony Joshua up with opponents that are capable of posing a legitimate threat to his unbeaten record, such as Dereck Chisora or David Price. I’m not being funny, but it’s pretty bad that AJ’s last ten opponents have tasted defeat an average of 11.1 times prior to sharing the ring with him.

Your maths is a little off I think, I make the average record of his first 10 as 16-8. Just for comparison:

Fury 11-8
Wilder 3-3
Wlad 8-9
Povetkin 11-5

So that suggests he's roughly in line with the current crop of top heavyweights. The difference is the hype surrounding him and he's been headlining shows, while the quality of the opposition would be better suited further down the cards.

Using the records of Joshua's last ten opponents at the time they entered the ring with him, they had suffered a combined total of 111 losses.

FYI – The combined total professional record that the previous ten Anthony Joshua opponents had (at the time they entered the ring against him), was: 210 wins; 111 losses; and 7 draws.

Sorry to come back to this but according to his Boxrec page it's (in order) 0, 19, 6, 2, 15, 2, 8, 9, 9, 22 = 92? Which, of course, means my initial answer was wrong anyway

Either way, it suggests the level (or at least, the records) of his first few opponents is very similar to the current top dogs in the division, which was the point I was attempting (quite badly) to make

[crusader]

I think Johnson is a good foe for him at this stage and he's faced some people like Bakhtov and Airich who are relatively tough opponents for pro novices. He blew those fighters out but to me that reflects positively on him rather than negatively on his opponents, and it's worth noting that Bakhtov had a fairly competitive fight with Manuel Charr shortly before facing Joshua. He has tended to face small opposition though and I'd like to see him fight a big HW in the near future. As far as the muscle mass is concerned, he's quite bulky up top which to me raises questions about how good his stamina is, and I think he's a bit stiff and wouldn't be surprised if that's partially due to the bulk.

Incidentally, today I found a video of him being stopped in the amateurs by a Romanian named Mihai Nistor. I looked for this fight for a while and didn't realize that it has been online for several months. Let me preempt the screams of 'it was the amateurs!! It means nothing! eff you for posting this!' by saying that I'm posting so people like me who were curious about the fight and may not have seen it have a chance to do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9sDcl2Cw

[Bard of Boxrec]

Incidentally, today I found a video of him being stopped in the amateurs by a Romanian named Mihai Nistor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9sDcl2Cw

That guy looks a real handful, busy, quick and seemingly powerful. Shame he hasn't turned pro yet.

[crusader]

Incidentally, today I found a video of him being stopped in the amateurs by a Romanian named Mihai Nistor.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9sDcl2Cw

That guy looks a real handful, busy, quick and seemingly powerful. Shame he hasn't turned pro yet.

Yes, he can be a handful when he's on. He was the first to beat Clemente Russo (who was something like 17-0 at the time) in WSB competition and though he lost to Usyk he had him looking weary of his power. He's only around 6'0" and carries a fair bit of flab around the middle though, and were he in good shape I suspect that he'd be a cruiserweight at heaviest.

[dempseyfire]

With the extra bulk Joshua looked slower and more robotic in this fight than in other ones I've seen, and he's never been particularly fluid. I think after Johnson, Joshua vs Price is the perfect crossroads matchup. Which is why it won't happen.

[Tony1244]

With the extra bulk Joshua looked slower and more robotic in this fight than in other ones I've seen, and he's never been particularly fluid. I think after Johnson, Joshua vs Price is the perfect crossroads matchup. Which is why it won't happen.

If Price beat Joshua, I would be amazed. Price, Hammer, I think are the kind of fighters Joshua will be looking for after the Kingpin.

[Boxing Writer]

I think Johnson is a good foe for him at this stage and he's faced some people like Bakhtov and Airich who are relatively tough opponents for pro novices. He blew those fighters out but to me that reflects positively on him rather than negatively on his opponents, and it's worth noting that Bakhtov had a fairly competitive fight with Manuel Charr shortly before facing Joshua. He has tended to face small opposition though and I'd like to see him fight a big HW in the near future. As far as the muscle mass is concerned, he's quite bulky up top which to me raises questions about how good his stamina is, and I think he's a bit stiff and wouldn't be surprised if that's partially due to the bulk.

Incidentally, today I found a video of him being stopped in the amateurs by a Romanian named Mihai Nistor. I looked for this fight for a while and didn't realize that it has been online for several months. Let me preempt the screams of 'it was the amateurs!! It means nothing! eff you for posting this!' by saying that I'm posting so people like me who were curious about the fight and may not have seen it have a chance to do so.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUx9sDcl2Cw

Joshua's stamina looked awful against Nistor. He looked deadly tired after just two rounds and even after 1-minute break came in the 3rd round with widely open mouth breathing hard. People say Joshua's biggest question mark is his chin. I disagree, I think it's stamina. He took huge punches from the hardest hitters in amateur boxing like Medzhidov, Savon and Cammarelle, but his stamina has never been tested yet.

[the_doctor]

Using the records of Joshua's last ten opponents at the time they entered the ring with him, they had suffered a combined total of 111 losses.

FYI – The combined total professional record that the previous ten Anthony Joshua opponents had (at the time they entered the ring against him), was: 210 wins; 111 losses; and 7 draws.

Sorry to come back to this but according to his Boxrec page it's (in order) 0, 19, 6, 2, 15, 2, 8, 9, 9, 22 = 92?

Apologies for this, I have a very pedantic nature, which is quite embarrassing and anti-social at times…

Bearing in mind my stats are based on the resumes of Anthony Joshua’s last ten opponents (at the time they shared the ring with him), here’s a list of their professional records:

• Jason Gavern: Wins = 26; Losses = 19; Draws = 4
• Michael Sprott: Wins = 42; Losses = 22; Draws = 0
• Denis Bakhtov: Wins = 38; Losses = 9; Draws = 0
• Konstantin Airich: Wins = 21; Losses = 9; Draws = 2
• Matt Skelton: Wins = 28; Losses = 8; Draws = 0
• Matt Legg: Wins = 7; Losses = 2; Draws = 0
• Hector Alfredo Avila: Wins = 22; Losses = 15; Draws = 1
• Dorian Darch: Wins = 7; Losses = 2; Draws = 0
• Hrvoje Kisicek: Wins = 5; Losses = 6; Draws = 0
• Paul Butlin: Wins = 14; Losses = 19; Draws = 0

Therefore, AJ’s previous ten opponents had suffered a combined total of 111 losses.

Of course, the above information can be verified using BoxRec’s bout list page:
http://boxrec.com/list_bouts.php?cat=bo ... _id=659461

That's me not reading your post properly

As you probably noticed, I was looking at his first X rather than the most recent X. I still think he's been progressed reasonably well - bear in mind that he was going to fight Johnson in Jan but his injury delayed that fight, JG stepping in as a "tune up"

I think the problem isn't the quality/experience of his opponents, more that they've all been quite similar. He would learn more fighting (for example) a tall southpaw with a poorer record than another sub 6ft3, plodding orthodox fighter with an average-looking record.

[Monte Fisto]

Controversial thoughts of the day…

• Anthony Joshua’s heavily-muscled physique is ultimately (in the long-term) going to become more of a hindrance than a strength
• Despite his enormous potential, AJ really hasn’t shown that many signs of improvement over the course of his eleven pro fights, because he continues to adopt a seek & destroy approach against his over-matched opponents… and usually prefers to refrain from employing a fundamentally sound style, as he doesn’t work behind the jab nor can he be considered defensively responsible
• It’s time for Eddie Hearn to invest in his charge and match Anthony Joshua up with opponents that are capable of posing a legitimate threat to his unbeaten record, such as Dereck Chisora or David Price. I’m not being funny, but it’s pretty bad that AJ’s last ten opponents have tasted defeat an average of 11.1 times prior to sharing the ring with him.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that Anthony Joshua has enormous potential and could one day become the heavyweight champion of the world, but something about him at the moment doesn’t seem quite right… and I can’t quite put my finger on it.

I feel the same way.I can not quite figure out why I feel it is not right with him.
I could just be skeptical of any heavy that shows talent these days

i agree, but i think we may all settle some more if we see that he has the ability to take a good shot. If that proves to be the case, we'll all be on the hype train. Nonetheless a great prospect, Doing everything asked of him to date.