Anthony Joshua, who would you have him fight?

Morning all,

As many on here have derided his recent and upcoming opponents who would you have him fight? If we get a few options listed we can maybe do a pole. Just been listening to buncy's show yesterday and ue suggested Dillion Whyte as he is just returning from his ban. He managed to knock down and beat Joshua in the amateurs.

Cheers

After his performances so far, would like to see him in with Sexton/Sprott kind of fighter. Someone who can box a little and his some experience at the top.

Difficult to find that on our domestic scene as yet but if we threw him in against Thompson of could be too much too soon as price with tell you.

Saying that,I think in a few more fights he will be ready for that. He needs tested in the chin department along with stamina....

I tend to feel you are on the right sort of lines mate. The problem with a lot of fighters who would probably be right in 6 months time is they will be asking for decent amounts of money as they have tasted it with the k brothers. Likes of Wach/Charr etc.

To be fair, I'd stick him in with any of our British HW outside of David Haye. Chisora is little more than a younger version of Matt Skelton and Fury is basically crap

Tony Thomson, Steve Cunningham lets him make a step up and against fighters Brits have already fought so you can see where he is, aswell as being fights he should win

There's a revenge angle to whyte and he's unbeaten which gives it a sales angle.

I'd quite like to see him in with rudenko who had a close 12 rounder with Lucas Browne recently so can clearly take a shot. Browne himself is slow and limited but may carry too much of a punch and prob wouldn't want it if he's chasing belts himself

How about Chris' hero toney? He may be a beach ball who should have retired in the last century but he's never been stopped.

I'd think they'd want a few like that before they looked at the 'world level' (forgive that description) ex klitschko whipping boys.

Have him fulfil his obligations with whoever he's signed up with for the rest of the year. In 2015 step it up with the likes of Cunningham, Tony Thompson, culminating with e Chisora at the end of the year.

Personally think thompson is better than chisora. Maybe kingpin instead. Guaranteed rounds but shouldn't cause too many problems.

I'm inclined to agree with you. I'm looking at it from a perspective that he would learn more from a TT fight and then take that into a big British showdown, blast Chisora or Fury out and then ride the wave of optimism all the way to world titles.

Sounds easy when I put it like that !

Chambers would be a good step, then go on towards the top 20 fighters

He needs fighters with a bit of savvy who know how to deal with getting hit and are adept putting a novice under pressure. Thompson did for Price and really put his career in perspective. Don't see any point in putting Joshua in with guys who are still easy to hit but just take an extra two rounds to fall over. It's not a test of anything other than the public's ability to endure one of our prospects fighting dross.

George Groves has had two high profile losses and come back with his fan base still intact. A loss for Joshua isn't going to undo the good work if it's against a decent operator who will teach him something valuable in defeat. There's more damage to be done to his career from him being KO'd by a last minute replacement Lithuanian plumber who thows a right hand in panic than from a former World title contender.

Bruno's career was nearly derailed by Jumbo Cummings who was expected to be nothing more than an addition to Bruno's KO highlight reel but they still kept feeding him stiffs until he came up against Smith who knew how to take a shot and fight back. Frank should have been fighting guys of that caliber a damn sight sooner than he did but it never harmed Frank's popularity did it?

Kingpin, Cunnignham, Chis, Browne & 'Fast' Eddie.

Thompson would school him.

ONETWOFOREVER wrote:Thompson would school him.

Maybe, maybe not.... but how else is he going to learn? By knocking over Matt Skelton types for the next five fights?

Kevin Johnson would take him rounds. Gary Cornish would be a good battle of unbeatens.

He'll learn something from fighting guys who don't roll over... Pacing himself, seeing how that chiselled physique holds up over 10 rounds.

A couple of guys like I mentioned first, then kingpin, Cunningham, chambers, charr types for me... A gradual but noticeable raising of the bar. But he needs to move on from fighting complete stiffs.

I think Germany has a better H/W scene He would get more fights and a better quality opponent then the Skeltons of this world.

milkyboy wrote:He'll learn something from fighting guys who don't roll over... Pacing himself, seeing how that chiselled physique holds up over 10 rounds.

A couple of guys like I mentioned first, then kingpin, Cunningham, chambers, charr types for me... A gradual but noticeable raising of the bar. But he needs to move on from fighting complete stiffs.

Good luck with that in this era.

hazharrison wrote:

milkyboy wrote:He'll learn something from fighting guys who don't roll over... Pacing himself, seeing how that chiselled physique holds up over 10 rounds.

A couple of guys like I mentioned first, then kingpin, Cunningham, chambers, charr types for me... A gradual but noticeable raising of the bar. But he needs to move on from fighting complete stiffs.

Good luck with that in this era.

And the baffling importance of protecting the precious "0" as unbeaten seems to equate with unbeatable in the eyes of certain sections of the public

I think Joshua would destroy Tyson Fury. To be honests I think he beats any British heavyweight apart from Haye who is in a class of his own.

hazharrison wrote:

milkyboy wrote:He'll learn something from fighting guys who don't roll over... Pacing himself, seeing how that chiselled physique holds up over 10 rounds.

A couple of guys like I mentioned first, then kingpin, Cunningham, chambers, charr types for me... A gradual but noticeable raising of the bar. But he needs to move on from fighting complete stiffs.

Good luck with that in this era.

Even in an era of crud, there are rough levels of crudness haz. If you think of it in terms of grading the sediment at the bottom of a swamp

hayemaker wrote:I think Joshua would destroy Tyson Fury. To be honests I think he beats any British heavyweight apart from Haye who is in a class of his own.

Cheers David, any update on your next fight? Rumours abound that you're looking at fighting in America next and there's also rumblings that you've split with Adam Booth. Can you confirm or deny any of this?

How about Gerald Washington this year? Unbeaten fighter, good ko record. 6'6". Would be a good test for both fighters.

You want to see a heavyweight like Joshua get some rounds under his belt but at the same time you have to wonder if it means anything against Kevin Johnson who will be in survival mode from the start with a punch output that makes Audley look like Calzaghe. He needs to be in with a durable guy who will press forward and make him work for it at least to test his engine like Chisora although it still might be a bit soon. That or Malik Scott would represent a step up from previous opposition, doesn't carry a serious punch but will present other problems with his size and semi competent skill level. Another option would be the returning Samuel Peter, offers absolutely nothing but a decent punch now but would be someone to test his concentration and might shift a few tickets to see of Joshua can get him out of there sooner than Wlad and Vitali did.

Ideally someone that has fought at a fairly high level and can take a punch. The high level experience will give AJ a test and someone with decent punch resistance to give him a good few rounds. I'm loathe to use the term "past it" but a former belt holder or contender. Rahman for example. He's certainly past it but he's been in at the top level and is still active.

DAVE667 wrote:

hayemaker wrote:I think Joshua would destroy Tyson Fury. To be honests I think he beats any British heavyweight apart from Haye who is in a class of his own.

Cheers David, any update on your next fight? Rumours abound that you're looking at fighting in America next and there's also rumblings that you've split with Adam Booth. Can you confirm or deny any of this?

Id love to see him in a prize fighter tourny

It's not just about the rounds, it's about building confidence and belief up. Truss makes the argument that in such a lousy era, there's nothing to be gained in fighting the also fans and he might as well go for it. I can see the argument and I'm all for a bit of fast-tracking, but for all he's Olympic champion he was late to the sport, he's young and (rather than it just being a standard line) he is actually still learning.

He may well be learning more in sparring than he will against the motley crew of names we're all proposing, but if the end result is he's a more polished and confident performer by the time he's ready for a title shot then, surely that's the game plan.

He's at the stage where is all risk and not a great deal of reward. Don't fancy the chances of an international level name just yet, needs to fight some bigger domestic fights perhaps, get a big following and headline a few events, look to challenge for some belts etc

Or perhaps a clash with hughie fury, however unlikely that is

I would have him fight Mariuz Wach. Has a chin of steel so won't fold but is relatively limited. Good rounds in the bank.

The difficulty from Hearn's perspective is the brothers have done such a job of clearing the division out over the last couple of years there is a real dearth of opponents for them, as such most of the guys like Thompson, Johnson and Charr will all feel they are not more than one decent win away from getting another title shot. As Aveyard has said Joshua is all risk, no reward, beat him you have beaten a seven fight novice, lose and you can forget a title shot.

Fair point rowley, although I interpreted aveyard's comment to mean that the fights are risk with no reward for Joshua... As in if he fights one if the 'decent' guys too early, and loses, the golden goose is cooked before it's laid any eggs.

I think there's a few guys, who've lost to more than just the k bros... Who's ambition is gone but would still provide a test.. And who would come for a few quid.

rowley was correct, I meant in terms of why would a thompson etc fight him? he took the risk with price although price was further down the line interms of quality facedm had a couple of straps and though that gamble paid off, price wobbled him and it would have been game over.

a great fight would be tarver, I thought he looked great in Rocky

Match him with someone like Bigdaddy Browne or David Price. They would be good fights.

Everything looks great at the moment but he’s ending fights early against guys with very limited skill sets. As a heavily chiselled Olympian I would expect him to do exactly as he’s done.

Which opponent you want to see him in with should depend on what attribute you want to see stress tested at this stage. I want to see Joshua go a minimum of 8 rounds as I want to see what if he keeps it together and stays tidy. That means I want to see a come forward guy with a solid chin but not a huge puncher and not a fringe world level operator either. It might sound boring but he’s still learning and I don’t think he’s ready for some of the names mentioned above. I can hold off the excitement for a year or so as I think he delivers plenty of it down the line but as an 8 fight novice in the pro ranks I think the pressure to fight the likes of Thompson, Fury, Chisora or even Kingpin are for later 2015/2016.

I don’t think it’s about protecting the 0, for me it’s about protecting that winner mentality as he develops. The Whyte fight would be a good choice at present.

Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran. I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas". I get that a lot and it's annoying.

What is the point of sticking him in with totally overmatched opponents who dont even try to win? A good prospect like Joshua should at least be fighting opponents who come with ambitions of their own.

catchweight wrote:What is the point of sticking him in with totally overmatched opponents who dont even try to win? A good prospect like Joshua should at least be fighting opponents who come with ambitions of their own.  

Agreed. He should be contesting for british and european titles already

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

Actually I just had bellyache.

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

Actually I just had bellyache.

You chichensh!t, motherf*cking c*nt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

Actually I just had bellyache.

You chichensh!t, mother*cking c*nt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calm down, it was a bad bellyache.

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

Actually I just had bellyache.

You chichensh!t, mother*cking c*nt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calm down, it was a bad bellyache.

Well that's OK then....I mean, given the size of you these days, I'd wager you didn't punch that horse, you swallowed it whole.

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

DAVE667 wrote:

DuransHorse wrote:

milkyboy wrote:Exactly Duran.

Brown/Price might be good  from a fans perspective. But he's an 8 fight novice and been pro for less than a year, so I'll cut him some slack to fight a few durable plodders first.

Everyone's getting a bit impatient in my view. We could stick some blue shorts on him, feed him a pie and a pint, then he can fight another 30+ nobodies in front of sell outs at the MEN while we all sing blue moon. Everyone seemed happy enough with that.

Cheers Milky.

Just letting you know though, I'm not really Duran.  I wanted to clear up any confusion as I don't want DAVE667 asking me questions about "No Mas".  I get that a lot and it's annoying.

Why am I getting in the neck? I'm one of the few who are in support of Duran quitting against Leonard as my take on it is that he was so offended by Ray's lack of machismo, he turned his back on him in disgust saying "I don't want to fight this (showboating) clown no more!"

Actually I just had bellyache.

You chichensh!t, mother*cking c*nt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Calm down, it was a bad bellyache.

Well that's OK then....I mean, given the size of you these days, I'd wager you didn't punch that horse, you swallowed it whole.

That's a bit below the 54 inch belt Dave.

The only person who swallows horses round here, is truss. It's his party trick at the oyster.

milkyboy wrote:The only person who swallows horses round here, is truss. It's his party trick at the oyster.

You seem like a nice guy Milky. I will assure you mean he "eats whole horses".

You would assume wrong on both counts

Joshua has a long way to go before a Wlad fight, if it ever happens.

Too early to say if he can be a unified heavy world champion. We don't know much about his whiskers for instance.

Hearn has invested a lot in Joshua so I can't see him risking a loss unless there is some decent payola on the line. He'll continue to knock over a conveyor belt of tumblebums for the time being.

Sorry, does no one think that Denis Bakhtov is a step in the right direction, he's the best fighter he's fought thus far? Sure he's lost but was watching him and he's not THAT crap. I'd go as far to say he can handle himself pretty well and it will be interesting to see how he does.