BoxRec

With the news that Joshua looks likely to face Whyte in April and/or Miler in June. Alot of fans seem disgruntled. So, who would you rather see AJ face this year out of the remaining guys being discussed seeing as Wilder/Fury 2 seems all but locked in....

I also chucked in a couple of wildcards in the that will inevitably get some less-serious votes.

I’d like to see AJ engage in a rematch against Dillian Whyte, but I don’t think it’s a big enough event to fill Wembley Stadium, since ‘The Body Snatcher’ has already been KO’d by Joshua. Dillian won’t be cheap either, since he’s headlining his own PPV’s and will be expecting a bigger than normal purse to engage in a world title fight.

The most likely opponent is Miller, since AJ needs exposure to the US market. It’s also a better commercial choice for DAZN. Jarrell is also a cheaper and less risky opponent to face, whilst the Brit waits to face the winner of the Wilder-Fury rematch.

Pulev would be a feasible opponent, as he’s one of AJ’s mandatories and there are no commercial/political barriers preventing this fight being made. I don’t think anyone in the UK knows who the veteran Bulgarian is though.

The other names listed won’t be considered, either due to them being retired (Klitschko), being aligned with the PBC (Ortiz & Kownacki) or being completely anonymous, whilst not having any legitimate world title challenger credentials whatsoever (Charr & Zhang).

So I’d prefer AJ to face Whyte again, but Matchroom are likely to make a business decision by choosing Miller instead.

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I Would like to see Ortiz get a chance sooner than later, otherwise Whyte deserves the rematch.

I would also like to see AJ face Miller at some stage but Big Baby simply hasnt earnt the oppertunity

I am not very interested in Miller or Whyte but they seem like inevitable opponents.

Miller, Whyte, and Pulev have all done way beyond enough to earn title shots, and Kownacki is not far behind either. Since Pulev is a legitimately good boxer, and since his prime will probably end soon, I'd like him to get his title shot before his scalp is no longer with anything. Luis Ortiz has not earned a repeat title shot, but he would obviously be a formidable challenger, and doesn't have much time left.

So anyways, I voted for Pulev.

Agree.... Pulev has my vote too

I always hate all this pre-AJ fight negotiations etc.

Until a fight is announced.

One thing I hate about AJ/Hearn. Calling the shots, % splits. It’s all they ever talk about.

Yes, he may be the A side, who gives a fück. Just give us a fight.

This now happens twice a year (every time AJ fights basically)..

We don’t even get this much drama with Canelo/GBP..

Get the Whyte rematch out the way.. or fight Pulev and get that mando out the way.

Thing with Whyte is, he said he wants to fight AJ, or even see’s himself fighting AJ at least 4 times in his career.

I think after this rematch, we won’t see them fight again.. should be no demand for it as long as AJ wins.

Unless they fight each other again towards the end of their careers.

Forgive me because I never saw the first Joshua Whyte but was it close? Was there a reason to warrant a rematch? I picked Miller because at least it is something new and fresh.

AJ washing the flour with White on the first fight

The Asleep Lamps wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 05:00 Forgive me because I never saw the first Joshua Whyte but was it close? Was there a reason to warrant a rematch? I picked Miller because at least it is something new and fresh.

It was 3 years ago TBF. Whyte buzzed Joshua once, but didn’t look like he was going to win.

They were both domestic level at the time. Both have improved since let’s not deny that.

So it’s not that the first fight warranted a rematch, because it didn’t tbh. But they’re both at their peak right now.

The Asleep Lamps wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 05:00 Forgive me because I never saw the first Joshua Whyte but was it close? Was there a reason to warrant a rematch? I picked Miller because at least it is something new and fresh.

The Joshua-Whyte bout that took place three years ago was very competitive in nature, though the scorecards weren’t close at the time of the stoppage. It may have been 59-55 or 58-56 in AJ’s favour, but this didn't really reflect the narrative of the fight, even if the scores themselves were perfectly valid.

Both fighters were relative novices and they both engaged in toe-to-toe trench warfare during the first couple of rounds of the bout. AJ hurt Whyte during the first and both men were hurt during the second round. Joshua fatigued badly and had to drop the pace for a round or two to recover.

From the fourth round onwards, AJ boxed his way to victory over the aggressive, crude and clumsy version of 'The Body Snatcher', prior to forcing the stoppage over a thoroughly exhausted Whyte.

AJ was widely expected to score another easy quick stoppage victory over Whyte, but fight fans were shocked to see Joshua having to endure one or two very troublesome moments in their contest.

To be fair, Dillian Whyte has improved enormously since then. He’s no longer a crude slugger. He punches more correctly nowadays and seems equally comfortable being on the back-foot throwing counters, as he is being the aggressor throwing bombs to the body.

Whyte’s physique against AJ also looks totally different in comparison to his physical appearance for the Chisora rematch. He appears to be much more athletic nowadays.

Dillian has also managed to put together an impressive winning streak over several pretty decent fighters, including the likes of: Dereck Chisora (twice), Robert Helenius, Lucas Browne and Joseph Parker.

He’s also been the top-ranked contender for the WBO & WBC titles for a considerable length of time and he’s also highly-rated by the WBA. The only reason why he’s not rated by the IBF was due to his refusal to engage in a final eliminator against Kubrat Pulev, because his purse for that bout would have been a pittance, for a fight that probably would have taken place on foreign soil.

I can’t think of another fighter that deserves a world title shot as much as Dillian Whyte does and the WBC’s mistreatment of him has been utterly scandalous. And Deontay Wilder even declined several offers from Matchroom that would have been career-best payday for ‘The Bronze Bomber’ to face Whyte.

Whyte deserves another shot at AJ, but I’d personally prefer to see Joshua face Fury or Wilder beforehand, but we all know that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

As for Miller, he hasn’t earned his world title opportunity, because excluding his last opponent (who was totally anonymous), the average age of a ‘Big Baby’ "victim" was roughly 39 years of age (based on his most recent seven bouts prior to his last outing). So the American seems to prefer to face faded veterans on a poor run of form and has also openly admitted to having no interest in facing any of his fellow world title contenders.

If AJ does face Jarrell Miller next it will be due to business reasons.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑29 Jan 2019, 06:59 I’d like to see AJ engage in a rematch against Dillian Whyte, but I don’t think it’s a big enough event to fill Wembley Stadium, since ‘The Body Snatcher’ has already been KO’d by Joshua. Dillian won’t be cheap either, since he’s headlining his own PPV’s and will be expecting a bigger than normal purse to engage in a world title fight.

The most likely opponent is Miller, since AJ needs exposure to the US market. It’s also a better commercial choice for DAZN. Jarrell is also a cheaper and less risky opponent to face, whilst the Brit waits to face the winner of the Wilder-Fury rematch.

Pulev would be a feasible opponent, as he’s one of AJ’s mandatories and there are no commercial/political barriers preventing this fight being made. I don’t think anyone in the UK knows who the veteran Bulgarian is though.

The other names listed won’t be considered, either due to them being retired (Klitschko), being aligned with the PBC (Ortiz & Kownacki) or being completely anonymous, whilst not having any legitimate world title challenger credentials whatsoever (Charr & Zhang).

So I’d prefer AJ to face Whyte again, but Matchroom are likely to make a business decision by choosing Miller instead.

lol AJ would fill Wembley vs his own nan

Yeah I peeked at Miller's resume and it is kind of weak. I guess Joshua cannot really go wrong unless he loses to one of these men.

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 08:51

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑29 Jan 2019, 06:59 I’d like to see AJ engage in a rematch against Dillian Whyte, but I don’t think it’s a big enough event to fill Wembley Stadium, since ‘The Body Snatcher’ has already been KO’d by Joshua. Dillian won’t be cheap either, since he’s headlining his own PPV’s and will be expecting a bigger than normal purse to engage in a world title fight.

The most likely opponent is Miller, since AJ needs exposure to the US market. It’s also a better commercial choice for DAZN. Jarrell is also a cheaper and less risky opponent to face, whilst the Brit waits to face the winner of the Wilder-Fury rematch.

Pulev would be a feasible opponent, as he’s one of AJ’s mandatories and there are no commercial/political barriers preventing this fight being made. I don’t think anyone in the UK knows who the veteran Bulgarian is though.

The other names listed won’t be considered, either due to them being retired (Klitschko), being aligned with the PBC (Ortiz & Kownacki) or being completely anonymous, whilst not having any legitimate world title challenger credentials whatsoever (Charr & Zhang).

So I’d prefer AJ to face Whyte again, but Matchroom are likely to make a business decision by choosing Miller instead.

lol AJ would fill Wembley vs his own nan

AJ didn’t sell-out Wembley for the Povetkin fight. Eddie Hearn said there was about 15,000 seats he couldn't sell.

Of the options listed Ortiz and Jarrell Miller are the best.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:11

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 08:51

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑29 Jan 2019, 06:59 I’d like to see AJ engage in a rematch against Dillian Whyte, but I don’t think it’s a big enough event to fill Wembley Stadium, since ‘The Body Snatcher’ has already been KO’d by Joshua. Dillian won’t be cheap either, since he’s headlining his own PPV’s and will be expecting a bigger than normal purse to engage in a world title fight.

The most likely opponent is Miller, since AJ needs exposure to the US market. It’s also a better commercial choice for DAZN. Jarrell is also a cheaper and less risky opponent to face, whilst the Brit waits to face the winner of the Wilder-Fury rematch.

Pulev would be a feasible opponent, as he’s one of AJ’s mandatories and there are no commercial/political barriers preventing this fight being made. I don’t think anyone in the UK knows who the veteran Bulgarian is though.

The other names listed won’t be considered, either due to them being retired (Klitschko), being aligned with the PBC (Ortiz & Kownacki) or being completely anonymous, whilst not having any legitimate world title challenger credentials whatsoever (Charr & Zhang).

So I’d prefer AJ to face Whyte again, but Matchroom are likely to make a business decision by choosing Miller instead.

lol AJ would fill Wembley vs his own nan

AJ didn’t sell-out Wembley for the Povetkin fight. Eddie Hearn said there was about 15,000 seats he couldn't sell.

Oh so he sold a mere 80,000 seats vs a Russian that casuals don't know? So yeah, I'm sure vs a local rival who's headlined the o2 and been the A-side in PPV with all the 'bad blood' etc Wembley defo won't sell out. What the fvck on earth are you on man? I want some

AJ vs Whyte is 10x bigger in the UK than AJ vs Parker/Takam/Povetkin. It sells out easily

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:25

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:11

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 08:51

lol AJ would fill Wembley vs his own nan

AJ didn’t sell-out Wembley for the Povetkin fight. Eddie Hearn said there was about 15,000 seats he couldn't sell.

Oh so he sold a mere 80,000 seats vs a Russian that casuals don't know? So yeah, I'm sure vs a local rival who's headlined the o2 and been the A-side in PPV with all the 'bad blood' etc Wembley defo won't sell out. What the fvck on earth are you on man? I want some

AJ vs Whyte is 10x bigger in the UK than AJ vs Parker/Takam/Povetkin. It sells out easily

Hardcore boxing aficionado’s may be well aware of Dillian Whyte’s improvements since his bout against Anthony Joshua in 2015, but the vast majority of mainstream casuals won’t.

Anyone with only a remote interest in boxing may be deterred from watching the AJ-Whyte rematch, because their first bout was relatively one-sided, barring the second round when Dillian caught Joshua with his huge left-hook counter.

It’s the mainstream casuals that fill these stadiums, not the self-proclaimed hardcore fraternity.

If the AJ versus Whyte rematch really was ten times bigger than Joshua’s bouts against Parker, Takam & Povetkin, then Eddie Hearn wouldn't hesitate in making this fight, but instead the Matchroom boss has offered ‘The Body Snatcher’ a smaller purse than what he received for the Chisora rematch, which is a claim that has not been refuted.

There’s likely to be a perfectly valid financial reason why Eddie Hearn is seemingly preferring to orchestrate a bout in the US between AJ & Miller in June, rather than the Joshua-Whyte rematch in April at Wembley Stadium… and it won’t have anything whatsoever to do with fear.

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:37

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:25

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:11
AJ didn’t sell-out Wembley for the Povetkin fight. Eddie Hearn said there was about 15,000 seats he couldn't sell.

Oh so he sold a mere 80,000 seats vs a Russian that casuals don't know? So yeah, I'm sure vs a local rival who's headlined the o2 and been the A-side in PPV with all the 'bad blood' etc Wembley defo won't sell out. What the fvck on earth are you on man? I want some

AJ vs Whyte is 10x bigger in the UK than AJ vs Parker/Takam/Povetkin. It sells out easily

Hardcore boxing aficionado’s may be well aware of Dillian Whyte’s improvements since his bout against Anthony Joshua in 2015, but the vast majority of mainstream casuals won’t.

Anyone with only a remote interest in boxing may be deterred from watching the AJ-Whyte rematch, because their first bout was relatively one-sided, barring the second round when Dillian caught Joshua with his huge left-hook counter.

It’s the mainstream casuals that fill these stadiums, not the self-proclaimed hardcore fraternity.

If the AJ versus Whyte rematch really was ten times bigger than Joshua’s bouts against Parker, Takam & Povetkin, then Eddie Hearn wouldn't hesitate in making this fight, but instead the Matchroom boss has offered ‘The Body Snatcher’ a smaller purse than what he received for the Chisora rematch, which is a claim that has not been refuted.

There’s likely to be a perfectly valid financial reason why Eddie Hearn is seemingly preferring to orchestrate a bout in the US between AJ & Miller in June, rather than the Joshua-Whyte rematch in April at Wembley Stadium… and it won’t have anything whatsoever to do with fear.

You clearly don't live in London

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:38

Enlightened-One wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:37

danconnollyeire wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 09:25

Oh so he sold a mere 80,000 seats vs a Russian that casuals don't know? So yeah, I'm sure vs a local rival who's headlined the o2 and been the A-side in PPV with all the 'bad blood' etc Wembley defo won't sell out. What the fvck on earth are you on man? I want some

AJ vs Whyte is 10x bigger in the UK than AJ vs Parker/Takam/Povetkin. It sells out easily

Hardcore boxing aficionado’s may be well aware of Dillian Whyte’s improvements since his bout against Anthony Joshua in 2015, but the vast majority of mainstream casuals won’t.

Anyone with only a remote interest in boxing may be deterred from watching the AJ-Whyte rematch, because their first bout was relatively one-sided, barring the second round when Dillian caught Joshua with his huge left-hook counter.

It’s the mainstream casuals that fill these stadiums, not the self-proclaimed hardcore fraternity.

If the AJ versus Whyte rematch really was ten times bigger than Joshua’s bouts against Parker, Takam & Povetkin, then Eddie Hearn wouldn't hesitate in making this fight, but instead the Matchroom boss has offered ‘The Body Snatcher’ a smaller purse than what he received for the Chisora rematch, which is a claim that has not been refuted.

There’s likely to be a perfectly valid financial reason why Eddie Hearn is seemingly preferring to orchestrate a bout in the US between AJ & Miller in June, rather than the Joshua-Whyte rematch in April at Wembley Stadium… and it won’t have anything whatsoever to do with fear.

You clearly don't live in London

If you read my words, I would personally prefer AJ to face Whyte again on the 13th April. I just don’t think it’ll happen.

It’s hard to successfully sell a rematch to the ignorant mainstream masses between two fighters where their first bout was so one-sided.

We also need to consider that there’s a possibility that the Fury-Wilder rematch could take place two weeks later, which would definitely cannibalise the PPV sales of any potential AJ-Whyte rematch.

The majority of mainstream casuals have limited funds.

Eddie Hearn has just confirmed (via ThaBoxingVoice) that a potential bout between AJ and Miller could take place in June in New York, but he also conceded that Joshua-Whyte could also be moved from April 13th to a later date (i.e. May or June).

Apparently both fights are “close” and an announcement will be made soon.

I read that Whyte has turned down a handful of offers making Miller the frontrunner. Of course the fact that they've sent him several offers means that they may send him an acceptable one yet. It is greater than a zero percent chance.

USYK

Whyte, Ortiz and wlad are probably the only ones I would watch. I voted whyte because he's earned a title shot which is rare these days.

jujigatame wrote: ↑30 Jan 2019, 10:43USYK

I just added him and apparently that resets the results of the poll

Well, Whyte had 7 with Pulev and Ortiz tied on 5. Think the next highest was Miller on 3.

I would have voted for him.