April 29 Klitschko VS Joshua

[Jewish-Reptile]

Lol, as daft as that was it was funny.

[stellen]

If its close pointswise then the fight should always go to the champ. And that joshua. Dunno why people are whining about it already. Hopefully things are ended by a brutal KO. And as klitsko is now gunshy. Thats also joshua.

[Eff Pandas]

[Chrismart]

Predictions

Deontay Wilder
My heart is for Joshua but my mind is always for Klitschko. We can't count Klitschko out. I don't think Joshua has had the well enough training or experience for Klitschko.
I'm not saying that Joshua would lose off that, but when you're fighting a certain type of calibre of fighters and then you move all the way up to the guy who at one point in time was the ruler of the division and held the belts for a long time, it's a big leap

Joseph Parker
Everyone is leaning towards Joshua to blast him out, but you cannot really get rid of Klitschko, with the experience that he has, so it's a fight that everyone is looking forward to.
I'll lean towards Joshua. The reason I say that: he's young, he's hungry, and if it was me who was facing Klitschko, I would pick myself as a young fighter.
Joshua has got a lot of power and I'm sure he is doing everything he can do to prepare well for this big task ahead of him. He's a good fighter with good power, but I respect both fighters.
If Joshua does win, it will be by knockout, but if Klitschko uses his experience then it might go the 12 rounds. A lot of those punches can land and it can do the business.

David Haye
Joshua wins that fight very easily, I really believe that is the case. I've seen how Klitschko has been declining in recent years. In his last fight against Tyson Fury, he looked the worst I've ever seen him and averaged around twelve punches a round.
All Joshua needs is a fair referee, because if they have one then Klitschko will be disqualified for holding.

Dillain Whyte
The first one or two rounds are going to be very cautious, with Wladimir moving and Joshua trying to slip and trying to stalk, then Wladimir trying to get some right hands off. You don't know how it is going to go. Some people think Joshua is going to walk over Klitschko, but I don't think so, I think it's a difficult fight.
Smart money would say AJ wins, because of what he has been doing and the fights that Klitschko has lost. He's been inactive.
But something deep inside me says don't write him off. This is a man who has come back from losses and knockouts before. Selfishly I would like Joshua to win, because it sets up a rematch with me and Joshua, but personally I would like Klitschko to win.

Bryant Jennings
Joshua cannot underestimate Wladimir's feet and Wladimir cannot underestimate Joshua's speed. It's going to be a speed versus distance kind of fight. If Klitschko can dictate the distance and the range, he wins. If he can't keep Anthony Joshua off him, it's over inside three or four rounds.
If someone gave me £1,000, I would stick £800 on a Joshua knockout win inside the first four rounds and would put the other £200 on a Wladimir knockout victory after four rounds.

Hughie Fury
I do think it's a tiny bit soon for Joshua, but I do wish him all the best and I hope he wins. I would go with Klitschko with the experience.
I just think it's a tiny bit too soon for Joshua. Definitely a knockout. He wasn't an 11-year champion for nothing.

Dereck Chisora
Joshua should win. I believe he's got the power to defeat Klitschko. He should just step on the gas the moment he walks in there. As a heavyweight, you are never past your best, until you're retired. I don't believe Klitschko is past his best. The guy lives like a professional athlete, a true, true athlete, so much stuff he does, so good luck to him.
I can see someone getting knocked out. I can see Klitschko getting stopped because I believe it's about what happens when AJ hits him. How is he going to react? We will have to see if Joshua can take Klitschko's best punch.

Mike Tyson
I 'm excited we are going to get to see Joshua. He is just a beast. A big beast Joshua reminds me of a young George Foreman. He is just wrecking anyone that's in front of him to get to the top. He is demolishing everyone."
In my mind, it's got to be Joshua early on - and I hope he does it - but if it it goes late it could be Klitschko.

[BigZ44]

Didn't sleep much last nice in anticipation for this fight. The future of the HW division is at stake. This really feels like the biggest HW fight since Lewis/Tyson.

[Chrismart]

Lennox Lewis on Joshua Vs Wlad

LENNOX LEWIS knows exactly what’s needed to become a great heavyweight. He also knows just what it’s like to fight a Klitschko. He believes Anthony Joshua will face a similar experience to what he went through against Wladimir Klitschko’s older brother Vitali.

Lewis said, “Because I didn’t have no training for his size and weight, when I hurt him he lumped on me. He was heavy. I had to push him off and throw punches again. So that’s the part I didn’t train for. If we’d had another fight I would have trained for that. Pushing 250lbs and then punching again, so I would have been training doing that same thing.”

Wladimir is likely to try the same tactics, leaning on Anthony’s head and shoulders to tire him out when he can. That will be a new experience for Joshua. “He hasn’t done it in any of his fights and you can’t expect him to go into the most important fight of his life to do it. That’s where the experience comes in. If Wladimir uses his experience there are a lot of things he can do to slow the younger man down,” Lennox said. “This has to be the toughest fight he’s taken on so far. It’s a big jump for him. Is he ready for it? I believe he’s ready it. Really he’s done remarkably well since the Olympics, dealing with each fight, basically blasting them out.

“The question still remains how much Wladimir has left? How much of the true Wladimir is left? Or have we not seen the best? This fight may bring out the best in Wladimir.”

Klitschko would however have to shake off the weight of his advancing age at 41 years old. “I don’t think he wants to believe that [he’s old]. I don’t think he’ll fall into that. I think he would want to go out with a win. Although they seem like they’re friends and everything it’s all the psychology surrounding the fight that they seem like they’re friends. When they’re in there they’re going to be punching trying to knock each other out,” Lewis said.

“I look at Wladimir’s losses, when he lost, he lost twice because of the first round he lost. And then I noticed throughout his career he remembered those losses and didn’t allow that to happen again. But now he’s up against a stronger man than him, does [Joshua] have more stamina than him? We’re going to have to see. I believe so. If he’s been working the way he’s been working, he’s going to have more stamina, more strength and I think they’re pretty equal on the speed.”

Lewis analysed what Klitschko needs to do against Joshua, saying, “It’s really taking everything he’s got. It really comes down to defence. Establishing the jab, when Anthony’s coming at him, whether he’s throwing the right hand or the jab, it’s blocked, you never allow him to hit until it goes into the late rounds.”

He doesn’t believe the baying crowd at Wembley stadium will bother the seasoned Klitschko. “I don’t think it will affect him. He does what he wants anyway. He boxes how he wants. He’s not the kind of guy, when they go, ‘Come on!’ to really step it up. He still plays by his playbook,” he said.

The Ukrainian should be motivated. “He’s been fighting because he wants to be undisputed. But now the undisputed has gone even further away from him. He’s up to 70 fights,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be difficult. Maybe he can’t get undisputed now but at least he can go out with a win.”

And Lennox’s prediction: “I’d say Anthony Joshua early, Wladimir late. Because of the fact he’s been through 22 [world title fights] already. He knows how to go the distance.”

[King_]

Anyone know what time the card starts?

[elfag]

This is a pretty hard fight for me to call,

Joshua -
negatives - chin, experience, stamina never tested to 12 rounds
positives - reach, power, skill

Wlad
negatives - age, inability to adjust, pull the trigger and deal with fury's reach
positives - power, skill, experience
medium - chin, hes never been put out with one punch, it will take a follow up onces hes hurt


Im going with AJ via stoppage... first I was thinking Vlad wins but he is ready to be beaten again. AJ moves very well though his opponents are so terrible its hard to judge his true skill. He will have to let his hands go and take some risks, if he boxes at a slow pace on the outside, that just favors wlad. Tyson took a lot of risk and has an unconventional style, threw a lot of punches from all angles and wlad didnt want to trade or take risks.

[elfag]

Surprised by the number of people suggesting AJ could dominate to a decision. Just remember, this is a guy who has never been 12 rounds.

Whats more, he's up against a former champion, known for finishing opponents late or scoring wide UDs.

Baffling.

even more odd because tyson didnt even dominate either, and tyson had more experience than AJ. The fight was pretty close but a clear win for Tyson. You get the vibe that Wlad never went 100% because he was afraid of trading shots, something he SHOULD have done once it was clear he was down on the cards, wlad was completely content with making no adjustments and losing a decision little by little on the cards, he doesnt have the heart of a champion.

[elfag]

I think there's too much rust on Wlad. AJ is stiff and a bit clumsy with his feet, but is Wlad capable of pulling the trigger? A few years back I'd pick him no problem, but I think he's there to be taken out now. He's too cautious and tentative. He might walk AJ onto something but I get the feeling AJ will get there first.

Yeah that is one of the things that makes it more complicated, AJ is not nearly as loose in both his footwork and punches as tyson. Wlad didnt have any answer for the combination of tyson's reach and fluidness. If AJ stays stiff and just tries to box at a slow pace, he will lose a decision, he has to let his hands go and he HAS to go for a knockout in the first half of the fight.