Suddenly warmed up. Shame it's taken this long. Both men being less risk averse.
The RedCafe Boxing Thread
- Thread starter CLK_FPC
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Joshua’s miles ahead, some of you must be drunk
Is it? Going by punches landed it's been pretty comfortable for Joshua. Franklin has hung in there and hussled but not landed enough for it to be close imo.
Or it's a classic case of confusing activity with good work, the two are mutually exclusive.
No not now, Joshua won the last 3 rounds pretty convincingly, was close to that point
Have you lot watched Joshua before!? Of course he's cautious, he's got a terrible gas tank. When he blows his load he's vulnerable.
Round 11 sums up post Ruiz Joshua. Gets Franklin's attention with a body shot. Proceeds to not throw another punch for 30 seconds.
All mental with him. I don't see a particularly physically eroded guy. He's always been a bit stiff and pulling back from shots defensively. The main difference is he's just not a killer anymore.
All mental with him. I don't see a particularly physically eroded guy. He's always been a bit stiff and pulling back from shots defensively. The main difference is he's just not a killer anymore.
I still don't think this is a valid excuse, he's still throwing shoulder / arm punches, even the right hand doesn't have his weight behind it. The only punch he's thrown that he sat on was to the body and it backed Franklin up. Caution is no excuse for inept technique.
Joshua comfortably in the end. But he’s just not an elite boxer.
Joshua 8-4 but he's finished. I can't see him competing against the elite in the ring anymore.
I wouldn't fancy him to beat Wilder either
I wouldn't fancy him to beat Wilder either
That was so shit
I have two rounds to Franklin and one tied.
Haha great bantz
Meh fight
He was obviously shit scared of getting caught and his career being ended.
I actually think Joshua will fair better as an underdog against one of the top guys….it’ll suit his mentally better to not be fancied and he might not fight so stiff
I actually think Joshua will fair better as an underdog against one of the top guys….it’ll suit his mentally better to not be fancied and he might not fight so stiff
Easy win for Joshua but he didn't look good
Only dropped 2 or 3 rounds probably but lacklustre performance. Franklin is somewhat crafty but basic. Needed a statement performance and that wasn't it.
It's not too dissimilar to what happened with Wlad.
If you watch early career Wlad, he was much more aggressive. He took risks. Threw more hooks.
Gets knocked out by Sanders and he reinvented himself into the robotic, grab and jab merchant we came to know and love.
You can see a bit of this process in Joshua. He's always thinking and reacting, never flowing. Calculating the precise distance of every jab in case he gets countered over the top. Being hesitant to throw hooks and uppercuts because they're more risky than straight punches. He even pulls out straight back in a panic like Wlad did, which most of the time works because of their height and distance.
He's still pretty good but he's never going to be elite anymore because I don't see him breaking through this barrier. He's had multiple attempts at it now.
If you watch early career Wlad, he was much more aggressive. He took risks. Threw more hooks.
Gets knocked out by Sanders and he reinvented himself into the robotic, grab and jab merchant we came to know and love.
You can see a bit of this process in Joshua. He's always thinking and reacting, never flowing. Calculating the precise distance of every jab in case he gets countered over the top. Being hesitant to throw hooks and uppercuts because they're more risky than straight punches. He even pulls out straight back in a panic like Wlad did, which most of the time works because of their height and distance.
He's still pretty good but he's never going to be elite anymore because I don't see him breaking through this barrier. He's had multiple attempts at it now.
People thought that was close? 
Did he just accuse everybody who fights him of being a game raiser?
Fight Whyte I reckon. That would be a decent cash out. Settle that old score. 2 guys that look past their best years lately which probably means it could be a good fight. Makes a lot of sense because there's no point in seeing Joshua in with Fury, and I doubt they'll be keen to line his chin up in front of Wilder's right hand.
I reckon he needed that. A confidence boost that he can win convincingly going the distance.
AJ v Whyte next would be smart. He isn't ready if ever for the elite level now.
I would put Joe Joyce as the #2 British heavyweight now.
Would prefer to see Wilder/Joshua. Fury a step too far and 100% Wilder would spark Joshua out. Even though Wilder lost to Fury he had so much heart which Joshua hasn’t had since the Klitschko fight.
Joshua isn’t technical enough to avoid Wilder’s sledgehammer over 12 rounds
Joshua isn’t technical enough to avoid Wilder’s sledgehammer over 12 rounds
Agree, to the last point it's a mentality aspect for me. Maybe sports psychologist because any fighter must be comfortable in the exchanges. It reminds me of Ward vs Kovlaev (1) where after the knockdown Hunter told Ward he would have to be willing to go into the fire there was no alternatives as Kovlaev was a rangey fighter.
I know Ward / Joshua are different levels but it's the same dynamic. He has to overcome that fear, he's a gold Olympian and former undisputed two time champion you can't reach that without having something no matter how under-stacked a division is.
Good summary
When will people realise that AJ isn't that good and never really was when discussing HW greats?
Fair play to matchroom for how they promoted him and convinced a lot of folk that he was an all time great.
To think a few years ago Hearn and Co were so arrogant in thinking they had the golden boy of British boxing.
Fury would outbox AJ within 5 rounds but we won't see that fight happen until its financially at its dying death. Same thing happened with Pac and Floyd.
Which reminds me why I've lost so much interest in boxing for a good decade and have since enjoyed UFC - a combat sport where promoters don't exist and don't dictate who fights each other.
Fair play to matchroom for how they promoted him and convinced a lot of folk that he was an all time great.
To think a few years ago Hearn and Co were so arrogant in thinking they had the golden boy of British boxing.
Fury would outbox AJ within 5 rounds but we won't see that fight happen until its financially at its dying death. Same thing happened with Pac and Floyd.
Which reminds me why I've lost so much interest in boxing for a good decade and have since enjoyed UFC - a combat sport where promoters don't exist and don't dictate who fights each other.
Wilder would retire him.
Fury should be doing everything he can to make that fight now, whereas AJ would do well to have two more fights in quick succession against easier opponents, like Fury did previously, before even thinking of taking a world title fight.
Were people ever putting him up there with the HW greats? I feel like you’ve just made that up Unless you’re talking about weirdos online that have watched about 10 fights in their life.
Were people ever putting him up there with the HW greats? I feel like you’ve just made that up
Unless you’re talking about weirdos online that have watched about 10 fights in their life.Could be worth a go with a psychologist. I'd be shocked if he hadn't tried that to be honest, because he's always seemed like an introspective fighter. Anything is worth a go at this stage because the trainer merry go round isn't really making a difference.
It's frustrating because I don't see a guy who's reflexes are gone, or is slower, or no timing. The tell tale signs of a physically eroded, shot fighter aren't really there in those aspects. He still jabbed the head off this guy and landed at will so I still see good timing. It's just mentally he is not all there and that will surely be costly at the higher levels. He has half the offensive arsenal he did in his early career rise.
To be fair I think Ward was a different animal. He always had that inside fighting ability, natural toughness, physicality to enable a long, gruelling fight if out boxing his opponent wasn't smooth. So it wasn't so hard for him to flip that switch. With Joshua it's a little different because he's always got the durability and stamina question to consider.
United fan confirmed.Did he just accuse everybody who fights him of being a game raiser?
Eddie Hearn will cash out on Joshua off of the back of that performance. Too risky to put him in with Dillian next, as he could lose and risk the Fury fight not happening. So I predict the following…
1. Fury stadium fight in the summer where he loses
2. Soft touch against whoever
3. Wilder retires him in Summer 2024
1. Fury stadium fight in the summer where he loses
2. Soft touch against whoever
3. Wilder retires him in Summer 2024
Seeing
When AJ just about beat a 42 year old Wladimir at Wembley, he was revered by the british public and became a massive celebrity.
Like I said Matchroom played a blinder. Fury beat Wlad in Germany 2 years prior and didn't recieve anywhere near as much recognition.
I am not saying that the boxing experts held him in such high regard, more so the public. I wish I was making it up.
Fury should be doing everything he can to make that fight now, whereas AJ would do well to have two more fights in quick succession against easier opponents, like Fury did previously, before even thinking of taking a world title fight.
Were people ever putting him up there with the HW greats? I feel like you’ve just made that up
When AJ just about beat a 42 year old Wladimir at Wembley, he was revered by the british public and became a massive celebrity.
Like I said Matchroom played a blinder. Fury beat Wlad in Germany 2 years prior and didn't recieve anywhere near as much recognition.
I am not saying that the boxing experts held him in such high regard, more so the public. I wish I was making it up.
You think it was a bad performance?
I don’t really see anything wrong with him becoming a massive draw after the Wlad fight. It was exciting, AJ was exciting, knocking everyone out, gold medal at London. There was a lot to market for sure, but also, Fury had none of that.
When a British fighter gets to heavyweight champion, it is always going to be the same. Best thing is just ignore the casuals if their opinions bother you that much. If I saw anyone claiming AJ to be one of the best ever, that would be an instant sign that I have no interest in engaging with them about boxing
What was that at the end where Joshua sort of leaned in with his head holding Franklin after the fight had finished - AJ is so weird.
The waffling he keeps doing when given the mic post-fight these days is really strange.
By trying to be open and insightful he's letting too many unstructured thoughts slip, which comes in a way that he's ironically trying his best to avoid.
There’s a difference in being a big name on boxing and being a great boxer, AJ for many people has always been the former. He’s a star because he looks like a star and he used to come across better than he does now.
Casuals will always hype up whoever is famous and even boxing enthusiasts can get carried away but whenever there were these top 10 p4p lists, AJ would either be 10th or not on the list even when he was world champion