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At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?


The_budweiser
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This April saw Anthony Joshua rise to another level and become the number one heavyweight in the division with his stirring off the floor eleventh round win over former long term champion and all-time great Wladimir Klitschko. Question marks were asked of him beforehand regarding his chin, stamina and how he would cope with an elite fighter, and he answered every one, impressively for a fighter who has had such limited experience. At just 19-0, all by knockout, Joshua is rapidly improving in reputation and status. And whilst it is becoming more common for modern fighters to capture “world” titles much earlier, especially with so many on offer, defeating such established names takes something special. So it got to questioning “who were the some of the greats of the division sharing the ring with at the same point in their careers?”. It provided some fascinating answers.

 

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Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

There is no comparison Bud, as you well know, its a different era.

 

A simple comparison to Mike Tyson @19-0 showed him still KO'ing tomato cans and it wasnt until his 28th fight that he challenged for a world title BUT he had those 28 fights in well under 2 years! And Muhammad Ali fought Cooper for the first time for his 19th fight. Ali's 20th fight was to unseat Liston from the throne and that's been done to death as to whether Liston was faking it or under pressure from the mafia or whatever.

 

There is also no doubt that AJ could unify this division tomorrow - as poor as it is.

 

And if you want to do a time-machine jobby - AJ dont beat Tyson or Ali at the 19 fight experience level.

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Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

--- Already discussed here: http://www.koboxingforum.com/showthread.php?t=109787

 

The obvious data shows Josh to be massively bigger, stronger, and more mature than Ali at 19-0, and he's been far more dominant than Ali was and beat better overall comp including an alltime great in Wlad in a fantastic fight, better than any of Ali's fight. Hey, Ali always gonna have his fans, but their logic sorta thins out Kojack like.

 

http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Screen_shot_2011-01-02_at_1_08_50_PM_7103.png

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  • 2 weeks later...

Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

There is no comparison Bud, as you well know, its a different era.

 

A simple comparison to Mike Tyson @19-0 showed him still KO'ing tomato cans and it wasnt until his 28th fight that he challenged for a world title BUT he had those 28 fights in well under 2 years! And Muhammad Ali fought Cooper for the first time for his 19th fight. Ali's 20th fight was to unseat Liston from the throne and that's been done to death as to whether Liston was faking it or under pressure from the mafia or whatever.

 

There is also no doubt that AJ could unify this division tomorrow - as poor as it is.

 

And if you want to do a time-machine jobby - AJ dont beat Tyson or Ali at the 19 fight experience level.

Don't forget that Tyson in his 20th won a close decision against James Tillis. AJ level of competition and achievements are greater at the same stage.
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Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

--- Depends on how you measure the stage. The decision only close in the minds of Tyson's critics. He knocked the highly credentialed Tillis down as a 20 yr old kid, the same age he sent Berbick to the canvas thrice on a single punch.

 

What was Josh doing at age 20? At age 27, Tyson was serving 4 years in the Pen, Josh obviously having the chance to better Tyson's 10-1 record at that point in time if Josh can hold it together. I don't think Josh will be long in the game. He seems more intelligent than boxing and can find plenty to do in retirement.

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Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

Well...the Wlad fight proved he's got the chin and doesn't get discouraged by a setback, so that's a good sign. He came back to the fight and took control after some very shaky rounds which he clearly lost and took a lotta punishment too. Maybe one can argue that a younger Wlad would have stopped him...maybe not. Anyway, AJ seemingly has the tools to become the next king of the heavyweights and rule for a long time. Discipline is the most important part I think. After a fighter wins a few world titles and beats a few of the best fighters, he starts to relax too much and think he is invincible. Happened to Lewis and a few others too.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Re: At 19-0, How does Joshua compare to the heavyweight greats?

 

I think Joshua has the potential to be a great heavyweight. It's still early days and one of the main reasons we see Tyson and Ali as a one of an all time heavyweight great is because what they achieved after their first 19 bouts. Same with Lennox. Everyone knows Tyson could have been far far better tha he was. Joshua can be better than he is now as long as he keeps his focus, his discipline and his hunger, which isn't always easy once you've achieved a everything in boxing and you feel the whole world is at your feet.

 

I think now that he's heavyweight champion he'll get all the top heavyweights (even though they're aren't any high level threats) which he will have to beat convincingly to prove himself as an all time great. Only time will tell

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