Is this a fight too far for Klitschko or will his greater experience be too much for Joshua?
Could be a very interesting fight this weekend.

I hope it is.
Might be just the lack of talent around, but none of these "top fights" recently have been great to watch, although I'm no expert on boxing.
They seem to be total mismatches or one is past it/not fit enough to be in the ring with the other.

I hope this one is different, but seems all the hype and build up is purely a money making exercise, then when it comes to the show it plays out at a fraction of what "is going to happen fight night"

Joshua will explode on him and he wont know wot hit him. Early finish and retirement

Joshua looks the part but he never been convinced by his actual technique. The fights I've seen he should have it the guy away in the first 2 rounds but couldn't manage it.

Klitschko still has a big punch, if he can catch Joshua early on it will give him something to think about that's for sure.

I just hope it goes ten rounds, as the above poster said I'm sick of seeing the hype train get boarded only for the fight to last 2 rounds.

Can't wait for this.

I can only see two outcomes:

AJ win by early KO.
Wlad does what he does and drags it out and frustrates AJ for a points win.

Really hoping for an AJ win - then hope he gets the chance to batter Tyson Fury.

I really should be wanting AJ to win but the eddie Hearn/sky hype train has sickened me.

Iv never been convinced with AJ, I don't think his punching power is this mythical force it's made out to be either. AJ does have relatively fast hands for a heavyweight though and has an excellent punch selection.

However AJs footwork is flat, he doesn't move his head very much and I'd suspect he would struggle in the later part of a tough fight with stamina issues with all that top heavy muscle he has.

I don't think either men's chin will hold up so Wlad will be fully on defence first boxing. If AJ can outwork him and land in the first few rounds that's his best shot, the longer the fight goes id favour Wlad.

AJ also needs to be aware of that right hand from Wlad it's utterly devastating.

Just seen this comparison to Tyson who many believe was the best and fought the best early on in his career.

I decided to do a comparison of Anthony Joshua's first 18 fights and Mike Tyson's first 18 fights. ..

How many KO's they got before round 5 and what the records are of their opponents. ...this is what I came up with.

AJ's opponents records combined in his first 18 fights. (413W 185L)

Mike Tyson's opponents records combined in his first 18 fights. (239W 311L)

It appears that Mike Tyson's opponents weren't as strong as Anthony Joshua's, which is interesting as people say Anthony Joshua only fights bums and the same people give Mike Tyson a 'God like' status.

Read for yourself.

Anthony Joshua's 1st 18 opponents:
RD 1 - Emanuele Leo. His record (8W 1L)
RD 2 - Paul Butlin. His record (16W 24L)
RD 2 - Hrvoje Kisicek. His record (11W 22L)
RD 2 - Dorian Darch. His record (12W 4L)
RD 1 - Hector Alfredo Avila. His record (24W 16L)
RD 1 - Matt Legg. His record (7W 3L)
RD 2 - Matt Skelton. His record (28W 9L)
RD 3 - Konstantin Airich. His record (23W 18L)
RD 2 - Denis Bakhtov. His record (39W 11L)
RD 1 - Michael Sprott. His record (42W 27L)
RD 3 - Jason Gavern. His record (27W 21L)
RD 2 - Raphael Zumbano Love. His record (39W 14L)
RD 2 - Kevin Johnson. His record (29W 7L)
RD 1 - Gary Cornish. His record (23W 1L)
RD 7 - Dillian Whyte. His record (20W 1L)
RD 2 - Charles Martin. His record (23W 1L)
RD 7 - Dominic Breazeale. His record (17W 1L)
RD 3 - Eric Molina. His record (25W 4L)

Ko's round 5 or bellow: 16

Mike Tyson's 1st 18 opponents:
RD 1 - Hector Mercedes. His record (1W 10L)
RD 1 - Trent Singleton. His record (1W 4L)
RD 4 - Don Halpin. His record (10W 23L)
RD 1 - Ricardo Spain. His record (2W 23L)
RD 2 - John Alderson. His record (6W 1L)
RD 3 - Larry Sims. His record (3W 19L)
RD 1 - Lorenzo Canady. His record (7W 10L)
RD 1 - Michael Johnson. His record (15W 18L)
RD 1 - Donnie Long. His record (16W 10L)
RD 1 - Robert Colay. His Record (7W 13L)
RD 1 - Sterling Benjamin. His record (5W 7L)
RD 1 - Eddie Richardson. His record (14W 21L)
RD 2 - Conroy Nelson. His record (21W 24L)
RD 1 - Sammy Scaff. His record (21W 14L)
RD 1 - Mark Young. His record (14W 37L)
RD 1 - David Jaco His record (24W 25L)
RD 1 - Mike Jameson. His record (15W 16L)
RD 5 - Jesse Ferguson. His record (26W 18L)
RD 6 - Steve Zouski. His record (31W 18L)

Ko's round 5 or below: 17

Can I just add that its been a refreshing change the way both boxers have conducted themselves in the promotional stuff. None of the cheap trash talking,just what seems to be a genuine respect for each other

AJ to win then fight Wilder. Then go on to do Fury

Anthony Joshua: The Road to Klitschko: http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b08ntbqv" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; via @bbciplayer

Well worth watching.

Anyone know of any pubs showing the fight ??

I think AJ will win, and have a sneaky feeling it could be by KO.

Am i in the minority to think Klitschko will win?

cricketfieldclarets wrote:Am i in the minority to think Klitschko will win?

No, i do

The Enclosure wrote:No, i do

And me. Joshua has limited experience and a lot of questions to answer.

I'm taking Mrs Woodgnome to the fight and I can't wait. You can make a case for either fighter, but I'm going for Joshua by stoppage. Fingers crossed.

I want Joshua to win but fear for his relative inexperience and think that
Klitschko will win on points.

No I think klitschko will win,think Joshua will blow out after a fast start and once he doesn't get the normal fast ko,he will run out of ideas and tire.I actually think Joshua will be the one who will get knocked out.Bookies are being a bit kind with the 9/4 on klitschko a massive price in reality

bfc1984 wrote:No I think klitschko will win,think Joshua will blow out after a fast start and once he doesn't get the normal fast ko,he will run out of ideas and tire.I actually think Joshua will be the one who will get knocked out.Bookies are being a bit kind with the 9/4 on klitschko a massive price in reality

he didnt get his "normal fast ko" v Breazeale (who was basically a very durable punch bag that night) and had to work hard for that. he referenced this in his documentary about how tired he was tho, but still maintained the power.
but i get your point, he hasn't gone the distance but surely he'll be young and fit enough to do it.

Hype as ruined boxing , Klitschko couldn't beat the Giosy king so hardly likely to do much against Joshua unless he gets a lucky punch or even worse the result has already been decided.

My mate texted me yesterday..'some ****** nicked my bike in the gym when I went for a drink just now - was gonna get stroppy but hey Anthony Joshua needed it more than me - lovely bloke, happy to chat and looking very relaxed for Saturday..'

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote:Can I just add that its been a refreshing change the way both boxers have conducted themselves in the promotional stuff. None of the cheap trash talking,just what seems to be a genuine respect for each other

I agree, however it may have gone too far the other way - saw them talking to each on TV the other day and felt they needed to 'go get a room'......

joey13 wrote:Hype as ruined boxing , Klitschko couldn't beat the Giosy king so hardly likely to do much against Joshua unless he gets a lucky punch or even worse the result has already been decided.

Box Office has ruined boxing. Who wants to pay £15 for a 3 min knockout or 30 mins of grunting and holding.

Sutton-Claret wrote:I agree, however it may have gone too far the other way - saw them talking to each on TV the other day and felt they needed to 'go get a room'......

Was that the "The gloves are off and the lipstick is on show" ?

Great fight. Two warriors. Sad to see Klitcshko bow out. But that was a fantastic fight. Both did the sport proud.

Toughest fight Joshua has had.

He hasn't bowed out

Firthy wrote:Box Office has ruined boxing. Who wants to pay £15 for a 3 min knockout or 30 mins of grunting and holding.

Stream it for nowt,had a brilliant picture,foreign commentary but who cares they talk shite

TheOriginalLongsider wrote:He hasn't bowed out

He will.

An absolute belter of a fight that harked back to the wars of the mid to late 80s and into the early 90s. A full value heavyweight title fight contest for the 1st time in ages

That Joshua uppercut is one of the best punches I've seen.

I thought Vlads head would land in the back garden

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote:That Joshua uppercut is one of the best punches I've seen.

I thought Vlads head would land in the back garden

Wasnt nice to see his eyes roll in back of his head. How anyone can survive that. He will have headache tomorrow.

THEWELLERNUT70 wrote:An absolute belter of a fight that harked back to the wars of the mid to late 80s and into the early 90s. A full value heavyweight title fight contest for the 1st time in ages

You missed the seventies then? The thriller in manila...the rumble in the jungle..... ali..when he roped a dope!.some great boxers george foreman,smoking joe frazier,ken norton,gerry quarry some great heavyweights

Strange fight that. In the fifth when aj opened up, he hurt wlad almost to the point of stoppage, then, without me actually seeing a punch, aj was all over the place! Looked like he's been caught with a good punch, but I couldn't see it in the replay. He looked like he'd tired to the point of retiring in the space of 30 seconds.

Good fight tho, and great character to get up off the floor to win it late on. A reversal of what a lot thought might happen!

If Wlad had jumped on AJ in round 7 he would have put him to sleep. AJ was gone.

Keano there with Brendan Galloway and Harry Winks.
Deserved night out that.

tim_noone wrote:You missed the seventies then? The thriller in manila...the rumble in the jungle..... ali..when he roped a dope!.some great boxers george foreman,smoking joe frazier,ken norton,gerry quarry some great heavyweights

I missed it because I'd have been about 2

MiltonKeynesClaret93 wrote:Keano there with Brendan Galloway and Harry Winks.
Deserved night out that.

IMG_0692.JPG

Ha! He'll have had that wonderful moment when he realised that work was taking him somewhere and there's an event round the corner that he really wants to see on the same day. Result!!!