BoxRec

Great fight ... comments

Very good fight

Surprised by how well Wlad did, and AJ sucked it up and came through hell to get the win. If Wlad were a few years younger, I think he would've won.

crusader wrote:Very good fight

Surprised by how well Wlad did, and AJ sucked it up and came through hell to get the win. If Wlad were a few years younger, I think he would've won.

I actually changed my mind this week and fancied Klitschko. And I thought I was right when he dropped him.

But what a come back.

Monster fight.

Hats off to both men; hearts of lions & both willing to lay it on the line.

Wladimir was magnificent in defeat & Joshua was magnificent to come back & do that after looking like he was a goner himself.

Throw back fight.
Heavyweights are back

You get a lot of crossroad type fights where the older guy is way past it and the younger is right in his prime. This was one of those where it really was 'at the right time' to make an even fight.

Wladimir Klitschko is a proper geezer good performance in defeat it won't be forgotten.
Congrats to Joshua.

Awesome HW fight....

Evander wrote:Great fight ... comments

A great fight indeed, just what heavyweight boxing needed.

Many felt Wlad Klitschko now age 41 and out of action for for 1 1/2 years was done. Yet he was in a very close match,

2 years early, he likely wins, but that was then and no one beat father time.

Joshua proved he could win a tough fight and over come some rough moments as well.

Respect for both men.

Have so much respect for Wlad. Amazing performance. Well done to AJ.

Wlad was definitely winning, and would have won if the fight was not stopped. Credit to AJ for his big shots late, but he has a lot of work to do in order to be the best. Wlad was the better boxer by far over-all, just too past it to compete with the young lion.

Badhusker wrote:Wlad was definitely winning, and would have won if the fight was not stopped. Credit to AJ for his big shots late, but he has a lot of work to do in order to be the best. Wlad was the better boxer by far over-all, just too past it to compete with the young lion.

AJ was up on two of the cards, though I had Wlad ahead.

crusader wrote:

Badhusker wrote:Wlad was definitely winning, and would have won if the fight was not stopped. Credit to AJ for his big shots late, but he has a lot of work to do in order to be the best. Wlad was the better boxer by far over-all, just too past it to compete with the young lion.

AJ was up on two of the cards, though I had Wlad ahead.

He wouldn't have been ahead after that 11th round.

Had Klitschko up by one point after 8. Joshua won 9 and 10. So Joshua was up one point on my card entering the 11th.

Really outstanding fight.

Klitchko i thought answered some questions on his chin. He kept getting up and tbh i think if the ref let it continue he would have heard the final bell. You wonder where he got that chin from when you consider how easily Sanders and Brewster got him out of there.

As for Joshua, his chin is ok. Recovered very well. His tank was literally empty by the end of the 5th and when the big shot landed in the 6th i was counting my winnings. Against a younger heavyweight though he would have out of there, if a fighter like Wilder had Joshua in that kind of state he would have him out of there within a couple of swings.

Klitchko should retire, and i think Joshua gets found out eventually. Monster punchers always hit a brick wall, was very nearly tonight.

Ricky_ wrote:Really outstanding fight.

Klitchko i thought answered some questions on his chin. He kept getting up and tbh i think if the ref let it continue he would have heard the final bell. You wonder where he got that chin from when you consider how easily Sanders and Brewster got him out of there.

As for Joshua, his chin is ok. Recovered very well. His tank was literally empty by the end of the 5th and when the big shot landed in the 6th i was counting my winnings. Against a younger heavyweight though he would have out of there, if a fighter like Wilder had Joshua in that kind of state he would have him out of there within a couple of swings.

Klitchko should retire, and i think Joshua gets found out eventually. Monster punchers always hit a brick wall, was very nearly tonight.

Sanders was a heavy puncher and kept knocking him down but Wlad kept getting up, Brewster on the other hand beat a Wlad who punched himself out. The Sanders fight was easy for Sanders but Brewster had to endure a lot of pain in his fight before Wlad gassed out. Neither one was really a slight on his chin imo. Sanders could and did KO a lot of heavyweights when he landed.

Badhusker wrote:Wlad was definitely winning, and would have won if the fight was not stopped. Credit to AJ for his big shots late, but he has a lot of work to do in order to be the best. Wlad was the better boxer by far over-all, just too past it to compete with the young lion.

Not on the cards. Wlad was up on only one of the cards at the stoppage. One judge had WK by 2 points. One judge had AJ up by 2 points. The last judge had AJ up by 3 points. Not sure how they could have gotten AJ up by 3 points but that's what was announced after the fight anyway.

Baby Face Finster wrote:

Ricky_ wrote:Really outstanding fight.

Klitchko i thought answered some questions on his chin. He kept getting up and tbh i think if the ref let it continue he would have heard the final bell. You wonder where he got that chin from when you consider how easily Sanders and Brewster got him out of there.

As for Joshua, his chin is ok. Recovered very well. His tank was literally empty by the end of the 5th and when the big shot landed in the 6th i was counting my winnings. Against a younger heavyweight though he would have out of there, if a fighter like Wilder had Joshua in that kind of state he would have him out of there within a couple of swings.

Klitchko should retire, and i think Joshua gets found out eventually. Monster punchers always hit a brick wall, was very nearly tonight.

Sanders was a heavy puncher and kept knocking him down but Wlad kept getting up, Brewster on the other hand beat a Wlad who punched himself out. The Sanders fight was easy for Sanders but Brewster had to endure a lot of pain in his fight before Wlad gassed out. Neither one was really a slight on his chin imo.

Indeed Sanders was a big puncher but imo Sanders landed heavier shots on Vitali and never really made a dent. Klitchko looked liked he needed an ambulance in his stoppage defeats, I think his chin has always been suspect.

I think that Wlad coming in 10 pounds lighter was a good strategy. It almost paid off. Carrying less weight helps with the speed as you get older. He may lose a bit of power, but he was in control for a portion of the fight.

Ricky_ wrote:

Baby Face Finster wrote:

Ricky_ wrote:Really outstanding fight.

Klitchko i thought answered some questions on his chin. He kept getting up and tbh i think if the ref let it continue he would have heard the final bell. You wonder where he got that chin from when you consider how easily Sanders and Brewster got him out of there.

As for Joshua, his chin is ok. Recovered very well. His tank was literally empty by the end of the 5th and when the big shot landed in the 6th i was counting my winnings. Against a younger heavyweight though he would have out of there, if a fighter like Wilder had Joshua in that kind of state he would have him out of there within a couple of swings.

Klitchko should retire, and i think Joshua gets found out eventually. Monster punchers always hit a brick wall, was very nearly tonight.

Sanders was a heavy puncher and kept knocking him down but Wlad kept getting up, Brewster on the other hand beat a Wlad who punched himself out. The Sanders fight was easy for Sanders but Brewster had to endure a lot of pain in his fight before Wlad gassed out. Neither one was really a slight on his chin imo.

Indeed Sanders was a big puncher but imo Sanders landed heavier shots on Vitali and never really made a dent. Klitchko looked liked he needed an ambulance in his stoppage defeats, I think his chin has always been suspect.

Sanders definitely hurt Vitali. He ran backwards across the ring to get away from him at one point, I think in the second.

Evander wrote:Great fight ... comments

Great see-saw battle!! One of the best HW title fights recently...

Ricky_ wrote:

Baby Face Finster wrote:

Ricky_ wrote:Really outstanding fight.

Klitchko i thought answered some questions on his chin. He kept getting up and tbh i think if the ref let it continue he would have heard the final bell. You wonder where he got that chin from when you consider how easily Sanders and Brewster got him out of there.

As for Joshua, his chin is ok. Recovered very well. His tank was literally empty by the end of the 5th and when the big shot landed in the 6th i was counting my winnings. Against a younger heavyweight though he would have out of there, if a fighter like Wilder had Joshua in that kind of state he would have him out of there within a couple of swings.

Klitchko should retire, and i think Joshua gets found out eventually. Monster punchers always hit a brick wall, was very nearly tonight.

Sanders was a heavy puncher and kept knocking him down but Wlad kept getting up, Brewster on the other hand beat a Wlad who punched himself out. The Sanders fight was easy for Sanders but Brewster had to endure a lot of pain in his fight before Wlad gassed out. Neither one was really a slight on his chin imo.

Indeed Sanders was a big puncher but imo Sanders landed heavier shots on Vitali and never really made a dent. Klitchko looked liked he needed an ambulance in his stoppage defeats, I think his chin has always been suspect.

It has never been his chin but rather his stamina when under duress which was lacking.

I just hope this shuts up Wlads detractors. At 41 years old and 3 years past his last good performance (and probably 4-5 out of his best form) he gave a great account of himself against AJ.

This fight doesn't change Wlad's place in history for me at all; he's one of the best. He's also proven (again) that he does NOT have a weak chin, and he has gallons of heart and will.

Hats off to both men. I hope Wlad retires, though he was a whiskers width away from winning this one. He's just past his best and age has caught up with him.

TheDarkDestroyer wrote:

Ricky_ wrote:

Baby Face Finster wrote:
Sanders was a heavy puncher and kept knocking him down but Wlad kept getting up, Brewster on the other hand beat a Wlad who punched himself out. The Sanders fight was easy for Sanders but Brewster had to endure a lot of pain in his fight before Wlad gassed out. Neither one was really a slight on his chin imo.

Indeed Sanders was a big puncher but imo Sanders landed heavier shots on Vitali and never really made a dent. Klitchko looked liked he needed an ambulance in his stoppage defeats, I think his chin has always been suspect.

Sanders definitely hurt Vitali. He ran backwards across the ring to get away from him at one point, I think in the second.

Yeah i remeber the exact shot. Stunned him for a second though, that was about it. Vitali had an absolute granite chin though so maybe it's an unfair comparison.

Great hw fight