Pretty tough call, But my gut is saying Wlad's experience will be a major factor. AJ definitely has skills, but there are still a few unknowns around his chin etc, which prompted me to go with Wlad by KO/TKO/RTD.
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This is a hard fight to call. Klitschko is ancient in terms of "boxing age". Joshua is in his prime, talented and powerful. Wladimir hasn't seemed particularly spectacular in the last few years. At 41 years old no boxer can be expected to be at his best.
BUT
Klitschko is way better than anyone Joshua has ever fought. Even at this advanced boxing age Klitschko has the skill to win. I'm not sure if Joshua can out jab Wlad. I doubt it. If AJ can't get past WK's jab in the first few rounds then I think Wlad is going to win. Joshua should have a big edge in stamina if the fight goes late though and if he has the heart of a champion he might have to walk through some dangerous return fire if he wants to win this fight....as long as Klitschko isn't too gun shy.
Lots of unanswered questions in this fight. I don't know enough about AJ to make a really educated pick.
Both guys are class acts. I was really impressed with Anthony Joshua when he gave some commentary at the David Haye-Tony Bellew fight. The guy was very articulate and intelligent. I didn't expect that. I'm a Wlad fan but if AJ gets beat that's going to suck too. This is a great fight but I'm a little under-joyed at the prospect of either of these guys losing.Comment
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Joshua wins this. Father Time is undefeated. Wlad didn't look great against Jennings and Fury to add a year and a half of inactivity. I believe Joshua is just to Young, Fast, Powerful and active for Wlad at this point of his career. Joshua should stop him between round 5-8 after some cagey early rounds.Comment
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I wouldn't be surprised if Wlad KO's AJ in the late rounds. AJ's chin looks suspect after the shot he took from DW.Comment
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AJ by ko, I'm totally unbiased of course....Comment
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That showed how GOOD his chin was. Think half full not half empty, many guys would have gone down from that picture perfect catch and shoot hook.Originally posted by -Freddy- View Post
But no doubt if Wlad lands flush AJ would be in serious trouble.Comment
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It's a worrying fight because you just don't know what to expect - Wlad looks as good as he ever did in training, or certainly not far off what we used to see. Saying that, Wlad always has the tendency to look a lot better in training than he actually does in a fight - in terms of throwing shots, variety of combinations etc.
My heart obviously hopes Wlad can do it but my gut and my head says there is no way he is going to look much better than he did v Jennings and Fury, especially after the lay off - and more than likely it would take a much, much better performance to beat Joshua - who is a far more dangerous fighter than Jennings or Fury, in terms of KOing Wlad.
The problem I think is not even the skills or power that Wlad still has, he has the necessarily tools to beat AJ - in theory - but once you lose that killer instinct where you struggle to time your power shots and are essentially blunted in offence, it's a very dangerous combination against someone with the speed and power of AJ.
Joshua won't fight on the back foot like Fury did, so Wlad will either have to push for superiority in centre ring with the risk of getting countered, or fight backwards with AJ coming at him. Both options are bad news for Wlad, because I see this as the first guy to get hurt getting stopped. If Wlad gets caught before he can shake off the rust and get into his old groove, I see a stoppage loss after a few cagey rounds, even if he tries to hold.
Then again, AJ could be less of the real deal than most envisage. Clearly he is untested against someone like Wlad, but personally I think he has all the tools to beat him - unfortunately.
Voted for a Wlad KO more in hope - but I unfortunately see this as a bit of a step too far for Wlad at this stage of his career, unless he fights the perfect fight and has that 1 last big performance in him where he channels his young offence and prime defense.Comment
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Look how shredded Wlad is. This is why drug testing needs to be year round.
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From what I read the WBA mandatory for the winner is Luis Ortiz and the IBF mandatory is Kubrat Pulev.
These orgs really need to work something out because I'd hate to see another situation where a unified champ is stripped due to impossible to meet obligations.Comment
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Originally posted by BrometheusBob. View Post
The winner will be the wba super champion which means there's more flexibility on mandatories. Hopefully something can be worked out.Comment
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