BoxRec

if the fight were made today, who wins?

Not seen anything from Hughie to suggest he'll beat AJ. AJ KO after a tricky start.

I went for Klitschko in the other poll, I go for AJ in this one.

aj inside 3

Joshua is just far to strong for him, but I think if Hughie's chin is decent it'd easilly be Joshua's hardest fight. He's a far better boxer than what he's faced. Breazeale gave Joshua his second hardest fight, and he should've lost to a guy Hughie beat while in first gear and stalled.

At the moment, AJ. In 3 to 5 years, Hughie.

Depending on HughiE's chin.

tigermoth87 wrote:At the moment, AJ. In 3 to 5 years, Hughie.

Depending on HughiE's chin.

This more or less my take, with a few more doubts.

Early on in their development, I saw them as fairly similar prospects, but that development stalled for Hugie and Joshua has ploughed forward.
I think Joshua would be a bit too much for him just now, although it would be a fairly good test for AJ at this point.

I think it gets a lot closer to call, a couple years down the line IF Hughie develops, both technically as he steps up levels but more importantly, physically.

I feel he might not have the physical strength to deal with Joshua or pop in his punches to deter him. Hughie has a good skill set at present but I don't know if that will be enough to tackle both Joshuas physicality and offensive talents.

It would be nice to see Hughie back in the ring soon, especially considering everything that went on recently. Maybe start seeing him up against someone in the top 30? Show that he can operate at a much higher level than he has so far.

Hughie currently doesn't have enough power to keep any of the big guys off him. He might develop it, he might not but it's a big "if".

He's clearly very, very skilled but Joshua would just walk him down for now.

Rob3_142 wrote:It would be nice to see Hughie back in the ring soon, especially considering everything that went on recently. Maybe start seeing him up against someone in the top 30? Show that he can operate at a much higher level than he has so far.

Kassi deserved a win over Arreola and very arguably a win over AJ challenger Breazeale....I dont think he was far off top 30 at the time.

the_doctor wrote:Hughie currently doesn't have enough power to keep any of the big guys off him. He might develop it, he might not but it's a big "if".

He's clearly very, very skilled but Joshua would just walk him down for now.

This.
Also I'd throw in Hughies fitness. He's got to get healthy and sustain that health for a period to become a serious threat at the top level.

the_doctor wrote:Hughie currently doesn't have enough power to keep any of the big guys off him. He might develop it, he might not but it's a big "if".

He's clearly very, very skilled but Joshua would just walk him down for now.

This. Hughie is a good couple of years away from facing the top 8 level guys just now. I'd give him a very good shout of cleaning up domestically behind Joshua and Tyson though - if done properly

PredatorHayds wrote:

the_doctor wrote:Hughie currently doesn't have enough power to keep any of the big guys off him. He might develop it, he might not but it's a big "if".

He's clearly very, very skilled but Joshua would just walk him down for now.

This.
Also I'd throw in Hughies fitness. He's got to get healthy and sustain that health for a period to become a serious threat at the top level.

Yeah I think if he can sort his health and improve his engine that'd make him so much better. He's never going to be George Foreman, but if he could throw more punches and throw them faster, as well as moving more, it'd go a long way to compensating forhislack of power.

Plus I wouldn't be surprised if it sorting his health would let him put on a little more muscle and get his power up a bit.

i have only seen fury a couple of times but i thought his footwork in the first fight i watched (sorry can't remember the opponent) was a bit special for a heavyweight , certainly better than any other uk heavyweight i can think of . for such a young bloke in a weight class that usually sees people at their prime in their 30's i think he has the potential to be the best of the lot.

if he has the engine to go 12 rounds at the moment i would favour him over joshua . the amount of muscle joshua carries reminds me of frank bruno and in a fight where he has to work hard for 12 rounds against a genuine opponent i think it will cost him.

Hughie's skin looks a lot better now.

I wouldn't sleep on his chances, his 'poor' showings have not been half as poor as Tyson's - and look what he did when fully focused.

Hughie does some things very well for a heavyweight boxer... and I emphasise the 'boxer' part.

Hughie is a decent boxer but doesn't have the physicality to trouble AJ. and I don't see it coming in 3, 4 or even 5 years. this is a pity as he has a lot of talent

AJ for sure.
Hughie hasn't yet shown us that he can compete at the highest level.

Crease wrote:AJ for sure.
Hughie hasn't yet shown us that he can compete at the highest level.

Joshua hasn't shown us he can fight at the highest level either.

after stopping Molina, has anybodys opinions on this fight changed?

wesshaw1985 wrote:after stopping Molina, has anybodys opinions on this fight changed?

wesshaw1985 wrote:after stopping Molina, has anybodys opinions on this fight changed?

Yeah definitely. I mean did you see what Fury did to Fred Kasi?

AJ wins comfortably IMO.