The RedCafe Boxing Thread

Raven

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Wilder yes, his resume is full of taxi drivers, but Fury? No way. Fury fought a much younger, fitter, better Vlad in his own backyard and schooled him, and did the same to Wilder when Joshua wasn't willing to travel.

Joshua has a reasonable resume, but not on the level of Fury's.
Fury has fought nothing but bums outside of Klitschko.
 

fergies coat

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Not sure Wilder ever had time to fight Wlad to be honest. Wlad pretty much retired in 2015 after Fury beat him only coming back when Fury got the belts taken off him for the Joshua fight.

When exactly was Wilder supposed to be fighting him ?
He turned professional in 2008 so it's not like he didn't have time to fight him. He won his title in his 33rd fight, and the decided to defend it against absolute nobody's.

Shelly Finkal got asked off a reporter after Wilder won the Wbc title whether he would unify against Wlad. He said no he's still a baby in boxing terms. He clearly ducked him.
 

TMDaines

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It's not embarrassing though, is it? If you go back through this thread, I've not been much impressed with Joshua as he's been stiff and robotic for a good deal of his career, but he's gone away and tried his best to modify his game and work on his flaws. His head movement is clearly much better than it used to be - people stating his head movement is poor aren't giving Usyk any credit for his pedigree and unorthodox striking as it's only a Fury who is not going to be there to be hit in the whole division.

He did what he could but lost to a better boxer, it's hardly a revelation.
People are overlooking Usyk’s experience relative Joshua’s. When Joshua started boxing, Usyk was already at an Olympic Games.

Tonight should be all about applauding Usyk, not piling on Joshua.
 

DixieDean

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Is he? Is that the best?

Because a better boxer just stepped up a weight to school him. If that's the "2nd or 3rd" best heavyweight we've ever had, then we are pretty lame. Because Joshua clearly isn't ever going to be any kind of great.

It's like Hatton's boy being given the win earlier despite clearly being bashed around the ring. You can't want people to watch this tripe for good money to keep it going, yet then get annoyed when they wonder why our great hope turns out to be a wet lettuce leaf.
The guy who beat him is a phenomenal boxer, though. And yes, the UK has been pretty shite at HW boxing for 100 years before lewis.

He might never be great, but being maybe the best HW in the world (before tonight) is pretty dam good.
 

The Hilton

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1st sentence is true, but that was what the whole of Usyk's game was supposed to look like: no power, gassed with the extra weight, so much less movement and awkwardness, but the only thing that hasn't come up with him is the power.

I don't agree with the second sentence, though. Joshua hit Usyk a lot, people seem to have not registered that, h also made adjustments in the middle rounds that caught Usyk off guard and he threw a really skillful, unsuspecting feinted uppercut to the body that made Usyk wince.

There has clearly been work put in to modify his game and just because it didn't work against Usyk - who is a masterful boxer as we all know - it doesn't mean the work never occurred.
If by adjustments you mean he actually threw his right hand a few times then maybe.

He was always gonna land a few times, with his range and just his huge physical advantages, but this was remarkably one sided. A lot as you put it is quite an exaggeration.
 
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feck me you were calling him out for taking an easier fight earlier tonight, now you’ve seen just how good the Ukrainian is, you still can’t accept that he actually as we told you, took on a very hard fight, barring Fury the most difficult in the current division?
He takes on fights, always has, something too many boxers don’t.
 

ivaldo

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Wilder yes, his resume is full of taxi drivers, but Fury? No way. Fury fought a much younger, fitter, better Vlad in his own backyard and schooled him, and did the same to Wilder when Joshua wasn't willing to travel.

Joshua has a reasonable resume, but not on the level of Fury's.
Much younger? It was a year and a half. And by all accounts VK was in great shape when he fought AJ.

But who else have you got? Because this is pretty much where it ends. There is absolutely no doubt that AJ has fought better pedigree.
 

The Hilton

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Fury has fought nothing but bums outside of Klitschko.
One of those bums was a heavyweight title holder that Joshua wouldn't fight under the same circumstances (going to his place).

Besides, you could say the same against Joshua, who managed to lose to one of those bums.
 

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If he stuck behind the jab and found the range like Lewis used to, it might have opened up for him. But he did neither that nor forced the advantage.
Lennox Lewis literally had one of the best jabs in the history of HW boxing. There is no time in Joshua's career where he will ever come close to that level of perfection and it's impossible for him to think and fight in the manner Lewis did because of the gulf in the quality of the jab.

You're not being fair to Joshua, imo. He can't be gauged by standards that are unobtainable for him.
 

Raven

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One of those bums was a heavyweight title holder that Joshua wouldn't fight under the same circumstances (going to his place).

Besides, you could say the same against Joshua, who managed to lose to one of those bums.
Wilder is a bum with a bomb, nothing more. Joshua has fought pretty much every good heavy weight out there. You're living in la la land :lol:
 

ivaldo

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feck me you were calling him out for taking an easier fight earlier tonight, now you’ve seen just how good the Ukranian is, you still can’t accept that?
He takes on fights, always has, something too many boxers don’t.
This is it. We can call AJ a lot of things, but he's always game. He'll fight anyone. There existed this pretense that AJ ducked Fury and Wilder, but we've heard from both camps who have acknowledged offers were made from AJ. As the champ, wtf was he having to chase contenders, and why were they turning down the biggest paydays of their career?!
 

ivaldo

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One of those bums was a heavyweight title holder that Joshua wouldn't fight under the same circumstances (going to his place).

Besides, you could say the same against Joshua, who managed to lose to one of those bums.
"Oh what's that? You pull a bigger crowd, you have more belts, are considered a better fighter, and have a far better record? Well why don't you come fight me in this bingo hall with a 6k capacity I can't sell out? Oh whats that? I could fight in front of 60k fans and earn more than I've ever earned in my entire career? No thanks, I'll fight this other Brit, who at the time had no belts and a quarter of the following."

Since when is the champ expected to chase these fights? It's so, so stupid.
 

The Hilton

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Much younger? It was a year and a half. And by all accounts VK was in great shape when he fought AJ.

But who else have you got? Because this is pretty much where it ends. There is absolutely no doubt that AJ has fought better pedigree.
Younger, still confident champion, who he toyed with and easily beat in his own backyard (which was famous for being stacked against challengers) compared to AJ getting seriously hurt and basically outlasting a much older man than himself.

Haha it might be where it ends for you, but Fury's resume involves fewer losses, more champions, and actually traveling to defeat people. Far better than boxing mostly punchbags in your own country.
 

saivet

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Didn't catch all of the fight but from what I saw AJ was just completely outclassed. Personally no fan of seeing a rematch given it was so one sided. Would like to see Usyk against Wilder or Fury next.
 

The Hilton

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He held more belts and brought a bigger crowd. Since when is the champ expected to chase these fights? It's so, so stupid.
I actually agree with you, Joshua was negotiating from a position of power, but Wilder had no interest in travelling. Wilder's resume is a joke really. But it's still true that Fury did what Joshua wasn't willing to - going to Wilder to take his belt.
 

sewey89

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I've just won good money on Usyk points.

What I mean by top boxer btw, is historically. It's all hype, all build up, and in that fight he is still being taught a lesson at his age. AJ is up there in the current crop, but you watch that fight back in the morning with a clear mind and tell me he's got it.
Ah, fair play. I misunderstood you. Probably clouded by the number of people I’ve seen on twitter saying that AJ is now shit. I’d agree, he’s not shown enough yet to go down in GOAT territory. He’d need to dominate a proper boxer, a fury/Usyk for that to even be considered now. But yes he’s clearly one of the top heavyweights still.

Congrats on the win. feck the bookies.
 

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People are overlooking Usyk’s experience relative Joshua’s. When Joshua started boxing, Usyk was already at an Olympic Games.

Tonight should be all about applauding Usyk, not piling on Joshua.
And 10+ years as an amateur, to boot. Being outboxed by Usyk is destiny for all but a handful of opponents he'll face and it's no great shame or embarrassment. He's been a P4P top 5-10 for years, so obviously, if he can take his game up or down a division with no fallout, those P4P qualities will come to the fore, which is what happened tonight. I don't see how it's a travesty or disgrace on Joshua's part.
 

ivaldo

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Younger, still confident champion, who he toyed with and easily beat in his own backyard (which was famous for being stacked against challengers) compared to AJ getting seriously hurt and basically outlasting a much older man than himself.

Haha it might be where it ends for you, but Fury's resume involves fewer losses, more champions, and actually traveling to defeat people. Far better than boxing mostly punchbags in your own country.
No. Let's not side step. His 'better record,' let's have some names. Let's make this comparison. The most ardent Fury fans wouldn't even make this debate.
 

The Hilton

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Wilder is a bum with a bomb, nothing more. Joshua has fought pretty much every good heavy weight out there. You're living in la la land :lol:
That's an accurate description of Wilder, but he's still the champion, and that bomb could easily have flattened Joshua (given that Ruiz absolutely battered him the one time he left the UK).

Anyway, the defensive insults and smileys don't bode well for the maturity of this discussion, so we'll have to agree to disagree.
 

ivaldo

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I actually agree with you, Joshua was negotiating from a position of power, but Wilder had no interest in travelling. Wilder's resume is a joke really. But it's still true that Fury did what Joshua wasn't willing to - going to Wilder to take his belt.
Fury had no belts, despite his disingenuous claims he was the linear champ. He either fought Joshua, who approached HIM, or he fights Harry Haymaker. He chose the latter. What possible reason do we have for Fury not accepting the fight at the time, which would've been his bigger ever purse, despite it (rightly) being weighted towards the guy with all the power? Fury likes to claim he doesn't fight for money, so why didn't he take the fight?
 

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If by adjustments you mean he actually threw his right hand a few times then maybe.

He was always gonna land a few times, with his range and just his huge physical advantages, but this was remarkably one sided. A lot as you put it is quite an exaggeration.
I think you need to re-watch the bout. Usyk's face was marked up by consecutive hits, not a few clobbering shots. Usyk won the starting and ending rounds, but the middle rounds had a lot of exchanges that were not in Usyk's favour.

What I don't like about this post-fight, is the way Joshua is being forced into a box as if he's exactly the same out there as he was a couple of years back. I'm not a fan of Joshua's and the majority of my posts in here will make it clear what I've thought of him over the years, but I find it contrived to deny him acknowledgement for adjustments he's tried to make.
 

lsd

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He turned professional in 2008 so it's not like he didn't have time to fight him. He won his title in his 33rd fight, and the decided to defend it against absolute nobody's.

Shelly Finkal got asked off a reporter after Wilder won the Wbc title whether he would unify against Wlad. He said no he's still a baby in boxing terms. He clearly ducked him.

I would say in 2015 Wilder was still a baby in boxing terms. He is still raw at times so I just don't see how he would have been ready to fight Wlad at that time.

He certainly wouldn't have been fighting him in 2008 when he turned pro add you seem to suggest he should have been doing so.

Had he seen how Fury made Wlad look he might have been interested but Wlad was pretty much retired then until he got the chance to fight for the belts Fury for taken off him.
 

The Hilton

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No. Let's not side step. His 'better record,' let's have some names. Let's make this comparison. The most ardent Fury fans wouldn't even make this debate.
It's not side stepping when you're trying to lay out rules that I'm not playing to.

The Vlad that Fury faced was way better than the Vlad that AJ faced, and is the best name on either resume. Wilder away, as champ, also sits above anyone else on AJ's resume.

Other than that it's a collection of tough bums, but AJ is the same really, with his top opponents being less impressive than Fury's.
 

The Hilton

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I think you need to re-watch the bout. Usyk's face was marked up by consecutive hits, not a few clobbering shots. Usyk won the starting and ending rounds, but the middle rounds had a lot of exchanges that were not in Usyk's favour.

What I don't like about this post-fight, is the way Joshua is being forced into a box as if he's exactly the same out there as he was a couple of years back. I'm not a fan of Joshua's and the majority of my posts in here will make it clear what I've thought of him over the years, but I find it contrived to deny him acknowledgement for adjustments he's tried to make.
Maybe I do, but I'd suggest you ought to as well, as you're giving Joshua a lot of credit for not a great deal. Almost seems like pity.

Anyway let's agree to disagree for now, it's too late for big debates.
 

Revan

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Fury had no belts, despite his disingenuous claims he was the linear champ. He either fought Joshua, who approached HIM, or he fights Harry Haymaker. He chose the latter. What possible reason do we have for Fury not accepting the fight at the time, which would've been his bigger ever purse, despite it (rightly) being weighted towards the guy with all the power? Fury likes to claim he doesn't fight for money, so why didn't he take the fight?
To be fair he was the lineal champ, and hold the Ring title. It is widely considered to be better than having any of the alphabetic titles.
 

The Hilton

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Fury had no belts, despite his disingenuous claims he was the linear champ. He either fought Joshua, who approached HIM, or he fights Harry Haymaker. He chose the latter. What possible reason do we have for Fury not accepting the fight at the time, which would've been his bigger ever purse, despite it (rightly) being weighted towards the guy with all the power? Fury likes to claim he doesn't fight for money, so why didn't he take the fight?
Are you trying to use Fury choosing the bigger purse as a stick to beat him in taking a fight under circumstances that AJ wouldn't? That's just bizarre.
 

Bubz27

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I actually agree with you, Joshua was negotiating from a position of power, but Wilder had no interest in travelling. Wilder's resume is a joke really. But it's still true that Fury did what Joshua wasn't willing to - going to Wilder to take his belt.
Because he had to. Fury was negotiating from a position of weakness in that fight, AJ a position of strength. It shouldn't be held against AJ that he didn't do that when he never should have to do that.
 

sewey89

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I think a lot of the reaction is being clouded by how the fight finished and the subsequent (correct) decision.

Usyk dominated and won 1-3
I thought AJ adjusted well while Usyk appeared to be feeling the pace and won 4-6
Usyk won 5
AJ won 6
7 (I think) Usyk was strong and then 8,9,10 were pretty close

Usyk won the last two, which AJ needed to and he basically knocked him out stood up at the end.

Usyk was the better boxer tonight and deservedly won, but to try and pint the picture as AJ having no success is just not accurate.

It was a really really good fight. I think AJ comes in heavier and leans on him a lot in the rematch. I still think Usyk beats him though
 

The Hilton

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Because he had to. Fury was negotiating from a position of weakness in that fight, AJ a position of strength. It shouldn't be held against AJ that he didn't do that when he never should have to do that.
It's not held against him, but looking coldly at their CVs it is a tougher fight than AJ has had, in enemy territory against the biggest puncher in the division.
 

ivaldo

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It's not side stepping when you're trying to lay out rules that I'm not playing to.

The Vlad that Fury faced was way better than the Vlad that AJ faced, and is the best name on either resume. Wilder away, as champ, also sits above anyone else on AJ's resume.

Other than that it's a collection of tough bums, but AJ is the same really, with his top opponents being less impressive than Fury's.
That's subjective. Personally, I think the Wlad AJ faced was far better. For the first time in forever he had trimmed down, actually seemed to have a strategy for his opponent, and had the hunger. He didn't respect Fury, and thought he was fighting just anther no mark challenger.

Tough bums? Are you seriously putting that forward?

It's not 'my rules.' You seemingly want to discuss technicalities instead of the quality of the opponent. The reason why you plainly refuse to list names is because you can't find any worth mentioning. After Wilder and WK we've genuinely looking at Schwarz and Chisora. Cunningham maybe? Hammer? I suppose the latter did put away channel 5s own Sprott...

Conversely, AJ has fought Uysk, Pulev, Wlad, Ruiz, Povetkin, Parker, Takem, Molina, Whyte etc. It's not even a discussion. Would they stack up to years gone by? No, but AJ still fought them. Fury didn't.
 

Bubz27

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It's not held against him, but looking coldly at their CVs it is a tougher fight than AJ has had, in enemy territory against the biggest puncher in the division.
To be clear, you'd say the first Wilder fight Fury took is tougher than any fight AJ has taken?
 

ivaldo

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To be fair he was the lineal champ, and hold the Ring title. It is widely considered to be better than having any of the alphabetic titles.
When you're banned and Rings own rules regarding inactivity strips you of the belt, you aren't linear champ. If we ignore that, then I suppose Rocky Marciano is still linear champ! :D
 

ivaldo

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Are you trying to use Fury choosing the bigger purse as a stick to beat him in taking a fight under circumstances that AJ wouldn't? That's just bizarre.
He didn't choose the bigger purse? Thats the point! The same nonsense was said regarding Wilder, until Wilder finally admitted last year he took LESS money to fight. Fury held no belts to AJs 3 at the time. But it's still maintained AJ ducked Wilder, just as it is that AJ ducked Fury.