BoxRec

I don't believe this fight will be made until it's forced.

Pulev has best wins over Thompson, Chisora, Ustinov, Dimitrenko.

Joshua has best wins over Whyte, Gary Cornish, Charles Martin & Jason Gavern.

Once AJ breezes past Brezeale, if this fight was next how do you see it playing out?

Joshua KO

Pulev obviously has the stronger resume, but I don't think he has the power to keep AJ off and I believe that he can be a little creaky under pressure.

Joshua ko, in a virtual re-run of the Wlad-Pulev fight.

Boxerbeetle wrote:Joshua ko, in a virtual re-run of the Wlad-Pulev fight.

Joshua isn't Wlad though.

He's undeniably talented, but he's very flat footed IMO. Rounds 2 & 3 vs Whyte he looked like a robot treading through treacle.

Joshua also has almost zero head movement.

Wlad is light on his feet can move in and out of range and feint. AJ might get his face jabbed off like Thompson & Ustinov vs Pulev.

It's a 50/50 at best IMO. Which is why there is 0% chance it gets made until it has to.

Whilst I think Joshua has flaws in retard to his footwork, etc, - I tend to agree with crusader and beetle that i don't think pulev hits hard enough to gain joshuaa respect.

I think Joshua is ready for this step up. If he cant beat Pulev now, he cant beat him ever. And I would favor AJ to win because of his superior physicality. Pulev is technically good but he is also very limited, no variety to his work. Jab and grab won't be enough to defend from Joshuas onslaught. Especially that we know he can be hurt.

It will be a good fight if made. Unfortunately I can't see Joshua risking it against Pulev unless it's a mando. Too much of a risk. He'll dig out some bum with a padded record to fight next instead. Wouldn't be shocked to see Joshua defend against Jarrell Miller next.

I think Joshua would win that one fairly easy. I'd pick AJ by KO in the 4th or 5th round.

I think Pulev could win but only if he can get to the second half of the fight.

Remember his defence was dreadful against Wlad.

Still think Joshua has stamina issues partly due to the huge muscle gain in such a short space of time.

Joshua inside 6 rounds, IMO he's a level above, Pulev is pretty limited.

Horse will be outraged by these poll results.

I think its a tough one to call. But Pulevs best chance is a points win and that means keeping AJ off for 12 rounds.

I wouldn't write Pulev off here but if I were putting money on it it would be on AJ

I like the fight and as said somewhere else on the board.....Pulev sets the challenge of having a decent jab and being fairly savvy and pretty competitive if he can do his whole boxing from range thing.

Doing some rounds with Pulev might not be a bad thing and he's a bit different to the folk AJ has faced to date. I don't see Pulev being an unacceptable risk to take either...more the sort of fighter AJ can learn from because he ain't faced that type to date.

Being made to miss the odd shot and show a wee bit of patience could be useful too.

Seems crazy that we've got two belt-holders still rounding-off their ring educations in AJ and Wilder....but makes things exciting as well. I get the sense that Wilder is on the cusp of graduating (or maybe not) with the Povetkin fight.

Bodyshot3 wrote:I like the fight and as said somewhere else on the board.....Pulev sets the challenge of having a decent jab and being fairly savvy and pretty competitive if he can do his whole boxing from range thing.

Doing some rounds with Pulev might not be a bad thing and he's a bit different to the folk AJ has faced to date. I don't see Pulev being an unacceptable risk to take either...more the sort of fighter AJ can learn from because he ain't faced that type to date.

Being made to miss the odd shot and show a wee bit of patience could be useful too.

Seems crazy that we've got two belt-holders still rounding-off their ring educations in AJ and Wilder....but makes things exciting as well. I get the sense that Wilder is on the cusp of graduating (or maybe not) with the Povetkin fight.

True can not f**king wait it's the making or breaking of Wilder.

davie wrote:I think its a tough one to call. But Pulevs best chance is a points win and that means keeping AJ off for 12 rounds.

I wouldn't write Pulev off here but if I were putting money on it it would be on AJ

Yeah it is tough. We don't know how good AJ is yet. Pulev would be a good opponent. I'd go for AJ KO but Pulev has some good skills. He just went for it against Wlad, if he was a little more patient against AJ and managed to take him late who knows. He's a fairly mobile big lump but not the quickest. These are the kind of guys AJ should be looking to fight after Breazeale.

I think Pulev actually has pretty quick hands for a HW....that's one of the reasons his jab is usually able to get there first and why he was regularly catching Wlad. He's stiff legged though and stands straight up with his front hand very low, which I think would leave him vulnerable against AJ.

crusader wrote:I think Pulev actually has pretty quick hands for a HW....that's one of the reasons his jabs is usually able to get there first. He's stiff legged though and stands straight up with his front hand very low, which I think would leave him vulnerable against AJ.

Agree. He showed some good hand speed at the weekend. Good combos as well. He had his successes against Wlad but that was as good as I've seen Klitschko in years that night. Apart from the Wlad fight he has some solid wins and genuine ambition so it's a dangerous fight for Joshua no doubt. Still go for an AJ KO though but Pulev would make him think a bit more.

True can not f**king wait it's the making or breaking of Wilder.

I am seriously interested to know what sort of nick Povetkin is in physically and mentally as well.
If he's fully-focussed and fit then Wilder could be in for exactly the sort of night that will determine if he is clay or granite.

There's dealing with a hard-nut like Artur Szpilka and then there's dealing with Povetkin in Moscow.

All down to Povetkin I think....retirement plan/cheque or take the chance to hit the big-time post Wlad?

If he intends to face Fury, Pulev would be a decent warmup, and by miles the best name on his resume.

Bodyshot3 wrote:

True can not f**king wait it's the making or breaking of Wilder.

I am seriously interested to know what sort of nick Povetkin is in physically and mentally as well.
If he's fully-focussed and fit then Wilder could be in for exactly the sort of night that will determine if he is clay or granite.

There's dealing with a hard-nut like Artur Szpilka and then there's dealing with Povetkin in Moscow.

All down to Povetkin I think....retirement plan/cheque or take the chance to hit the big-time post Wlad?

I cant imagine this is Povetkin cashing in. Wilder isn't a big payday. World title fights in Bumfuck Alabama are sure fire sign the PPV masses and the money they bring are a long way from interested.
All down to Wilder's chin Imo. If he's got some whiskers this could be a cracker.

I rate Pulev as a solid fighter but he lacks big KO power and his chin is suspect, even a tiring Delboy shook him a couple of times. So while Pulev might be able to cause Joshua trouble with his jab, I think AJ finds his chin and the end is soon after.

Would be Joshua's best opponent so far.

I rate Pulev but his style would suit Joshua. AJ to slowly walk through him and finish him off around the 6th round.