Kevin Johnson had help from Tyson Fury for Joshua preparation, says Nelson

By Boxing News - 05/28/2015 - Comments

joshua63By Scott Gilfoid: Well, it looks like #6 WBC heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s fight this Saturday night against high level journeyman Kevin Johnson (29-6-1, 14 KOs) could potentially be a lot tougher fight for the 6’6” fighter than originally thought.

Johnson, 35, has been sparring with unbeaten British heavyweight Tyson Fury to get ready for this fight, according to Sky Sports commentator Johnny Nelson. It’s unclear how much sparring that Johnson did with Fury, but it doesn’t matter.

Any kind of sparring with Fury likely will be a huge plus for Johnson in getting him ready for Joshua. Fury has sparred with Joshua in the past, and he no doubt knows how to get the better of the stiff, 245lb fighter.

“My spies tell me he’s [Johnson] been sparring at Tyson Fury’s gym, sparring a bit with Tyson Fury,” Nelson said via Sky Sports News HQ. “If that’s true, maybe Tyson will be trying to see how he fares against Anthony, knows what his strengths and weaknesses.”

That’s definitely bad news for Joshua. Johnson is already said to be in even better shape than he was for his failed title shot against WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko in 2009. Vitali could barely land a glove on Johnson in that fight due to the American’s near impregnable defense that he employed in the fight. Joshua could find himself in the same situation if Johnson decides he’s not going to get hit.

If Johnson can nail Joshua with his powerful left hook, we could see a big upset on Saturday when the two fighters face each other at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Unknown to a lot of boxing fans, Johnson has a very good left hook that he’s capable of knocking anyone out with. Johnson doesn’t throw it a lot, but when he does find his target with that shot, he’s capable of causing a lot of pain. Joshua is definitely hittable due to his tendency to open himself up for counter shots when he throws his punches.

Joshua doesn’t have scorching hand speed. He seems to push his punches in a robotic manner. If you compare him to other fighters in the past, he reminds me a little of Alex Stewart. He doesn’t throw with speed like Mike Tyson or even Deontay Wilder. Joshua also stands square a lot with his opponents, and that makes him vulnerable to getting nailed with shots. Joshua has been able to get away with his poor form due to the low quality opposition his promoter Eddie Hearn has been putting in there with him. That’s the real negative. By putting Joshua in with dreadful opposition, Hearn is helping him develop a lot of bad habits that are going to result in him taking punishment when he finally steps it up a couple of levels and begins facing 1st tier opposition one of these days.

With his #6 ranking with the WBC, Joshua should be facing top tier opposition already. I mean, we are taking about a top 10 contender at the world stage, and there really isn’t any excuse for Joshua to still be facing 2nd and 3rd tier opposition at this point. When you get to No.6 in the world rankings, you should be fighting at least top 15 contenders.



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