Anthony Joshua v Carlos Takam 28 October 2017

[Primo Carnera]

Wilder is so much better than Joshua it is funny. Joshua has stamina issues, a weak chin and and no jab. Wilder will windmill him out of there. He should never travel to the UK though.

Weak Chin? Did you see what happened to Eddie Chambers when Wlad hit him flush? He was asleep. AJ got off the floor and beat him 5 rounds later! He just leaves his chin open and does have very suspect stamina. Needs to get that jab working too.

Mabe not Khan like or anything like that, but he is hardly James Toney or Ali when it comes to chins. In the last two he has looked a bit chinny with stamina problems to me. I think that plays into Wilders strengths. Wlad was so old in that fight and off a layoff and loss and this was very patchy. I would still like to see James Toney come back and sort them all out.

You think Wilder is better than Joshua, that's fine . A fair point. But to say AJ has a weak chin to try to justify the point is plain ludicrous.
I reckon his chin is pretty tough. You could say Wilder's chin is weak, because he got wobbled in one of his recent fights, and he's got chicken legs. That would be just as ludicrous.
With the heavies, they're all getting hit hard by massive blokes. They can all be KO'd.
I believe fitness is a lot to do wth recovery from getting clobbered (e.g. Froch) , and I believe AJ has to come in much lighter and therefore fitter than he did last night.

I just think Wilder hits very hard and that Joshua might not be able to sustain a pace or handle a non gun shy power puncher. Wlad was very old and he managed to take most of the middle portion of the last fight after a very long lay off. Then with this showing I just think Joshua is a bit overhyped. Wlad does hit very hard, so Joshua can definitely handle a situation like that, but I am not convinced he can handle output + power together with the size of Wilder too. It will be an interesting fight should it ever happen.

Agree with all of that. It's crazy really, the 2 best HW's on the planet, and there are big question marks about both of them skill set wise.
I have a sneaky feeling that if these 2 ever meet, it will be a very boring anti-climax of a fight.
Joshua isn't ring savvy enough to adapt to different things that happen in the middle of a fight, and Wilder isn't patient enough to develop a prolonged attack without turning into a human windmill.
I reckon this, along with respect for each other's power, could result in a bit of a Mexican stand off for long parts of the fight.
Final note, credit to Takam, he BOXED beautifully last night . He looked in shape, movement was great, countered well and showed heart. It's a shame that :
A. He didn't see the final bell as he deserved, and
B. That size means everything.

[Master]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

[Ron Swanson]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

[Memphis]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

[Primo Carnera]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Champion- Fury? How's he supposed to fight him?
Povetkin - Banned half the time.
Bellew - no.10.
Parker & Wilder - just as much there fault as his it hasn't happened.
Let's move on shall we.

[Ron Swanson]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Champion- Fury? How's he supposed to fight him?
Povetkin - Banned half the time.
Bellew - no.10.
Parker & Wilder - just as much there fault as his it hasn't happened.
Let's move on shall we.

The point is they need to fight, not move on. Not blaming anyone here, just saying the top guys needto fight

[Master]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Lennox had earned his title shot beating undefeated Gary Mason, gone through the titles and at least gone the distance.

However I am not blaming AJ, it would be criminal for him not to take the opportunity presented to him. Every other great heavyweight would have taken the title under these circumstances.

I am just pointing out how poor the division really is and Bellew at number 10! No wonder David Haye has not called it a day.

[Primo Carnera]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Lennox had earned his title shot beating undefeated Gary Mason, gone through the titles and at least gone the distance.

However I am not blaming AJ, it would be criminal for him not to take the opportunity presented to him. Every other great heavyweight would have taken the title under these circumstances.

I am just pointing out how poor the division really is and Bellew at number 10! No wonder David Haye has not called it a day.

Being Devil's advocate a bit, but Is that not similar to Joshua earning his shot beating the undefeated Whyte? Now don't get me wrong, I don't rate Whyte, but we're talking about a guy whose next fight could be a title shot.
I'm not saying AJ is near Lewis's level, may never be . He has a lot to learn and that will only come with experience.
The "Going the distance" thing , is that really relevant any more? He's gone 11 rounds with one of the best 2 fighters of the last 10 years and 10 rounds in his last 2 fights, so there's not much difference.
What he needs to do is weigh a stone lighter and he'll do 12 rounds no problem if he has to.
I did say a while ago, "Maybe he'll never go the distance, maybe he'll either finish every opponent or they finish him inside the distance."
After last night's refereeing, I think it is a definite aim of Hearn's and Matchroom.

[Master]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Lennox had earned his title shot beating undefeated Gary Mason, gone through the titles and at least gone the distance.

However I am not blaming AJ, it would be criminal for him not to take the opportunity presented to him. Every other great heavyweight would have taken the title under these circumstances.

I am just pointing out how poor the division really is and Bellew at number 10! No wonder David Haye has not called it a day.

Being Devil's advocate a bit, but Is that not similar to Joshua earning his shot beating the undefeated Whyte? Now don't get me wrong, I don't rate Whyte, but we're talking about a guy whose next fight could be a title shot.
I'm not saying AJ is near Lewis's level, may never be . He has a lot to learn and that will only come with experience.
The "Going the distance" thing , is that really relevant any more? He's gone 11 rounds with one of the best 2 fighters of the last 10 years and 10 rounds in his last 2 fights, so there's not much difference.
What he needs to do is weigh a stone lighter and he'll do 12 rounds no problem if he has to.
I did say a while ago, "Maybe he'll never go the distance, maybe he'll either finish every opponent or they finish him inside the distance."
After last night's refereeing, I think it is a definite aim of Hearn's and Matchroom.

Those championship rounds meant something.

[Spicoli]

Eddie Hearn was on the radio and said AJ is not the finished article. It is extraordinary that a champion of multiple heavyweight titles with a number of defences is still not the finished article. It says more about the quality of heavyweights than how talented the champion really is.

Not throwing blame around, just stating the facts as they are....but it's not just the division but also choice of opponents. The Ring top 10 and champion of those 11 he has fought 2. None higher than the 8th guy.

Again, not blaming, just saying.

Ring ratings have Bellew at 10. Enough said I think.

But for what it's worth. Based on your 'guys inside The Ring top 10' selection process. Joshua is matching himself harder and better than anyone else no? Fury hasnt fought anyone inside the top ten. Neither has Wilder.


Master where's the issue with someone being a champion yet not the finished article? Lennox Lewis was far from the finished article when winning and then losing World titles. It's nothing like extraordinary.

Lennox had earned his title shot beating undefeated Gary Mason, gone through the titles and at least gone the distance.

However I am not blaming AJ, it would be criminal for him not to take the opportunity presented to him. Every other great heavyweight would have taken the title under these circumstances.

I am just pointing out how poor the division really is and Bellew at number 10! No wonder David Haye has not called it a day.

Lewis did well for himself to come Stateside right after Mason and beat up former champ Weaver on commercial tv. He was definitely far from complete and in fairness his title 'claim' was very anti climactic after destroying #1 ranked Ruddock in 4 man tourney as Bowe tucked tail and ran. From there he beats 3 top ten guys before he slips .

Hearn was maybe trying to get ahead of it, but honestly most of the fault came before the bell even sounded with AJs weight and apparently assuming Takam would be a complete pushover. Otherwise he dominated the fight and finally did late what he needed to do from start, working jab and bodywork and combination. He better get his head right next out though and I still think he beats Wilder who is a wide open book regarding chin and facing any form of real adversity.