By Stanley White: Tyson Fury says he’s seen zero improvement in Anthony Joshua’s game in the last 2 years. The only difference has noticed with Joshua is he’s added more muscle weight since 2015. Fury thinks the heavily muscled Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) will come unglued when he faces a boxer like himself. Fury sees Joshua as lacking the speed and mobility to handle a good boxer.
Joshua looked like a better fighter in 2015 than he does now. Joshua was lighter in the mid-240s, and he wasn’t gassing out like we’ve seen from him in his last 2 fights against Carlos Takam and Wladimir Klitschko. Joshua has packed on 10 pounds of muscle weight since 2015, and he’s now weighing in the mid-250s.
Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn expects him to remain in the 254 lb. region for the remainder of his career. If Joshua gets too much bigger, he could hurt his own career. It was thought that Joshua would back off from the weight training after his close call in the Klitschko fight. Joshua gassed out in the 6th round, and he was exhausted until the 10th. For the Klitschko fight, Joshua weighed 250 lbs., and he was no match for the fitness level of the 240 lb. Klitschko. The fitness level between the two giant heavyweights was signifcant. Wladimir was in much better condition as far as his cardio. Joshua still won the fight, but his ragged performance sent out huge alarm bells for impending future problems for him. Joshua having stamina problems at 28-years-old is not a good sign.
“He’s still the same man he was when I last boxed two years ago,” said Fury to the sun.co.uk. ”He’s still the same, just a bit heavier and with a few more muscles on him. That’s it really,”
Fury has done a lot of trash talking about Joshua recently, and much of it is just him trying to get under his skin by needling him. In this case, Fury seems to be giving his honest opinion about Joshua. It’s clear that Joshua is not the same fighter he was in 2015. If you look at how Joshua was fighting back then and compare it to how he’s looked in 2017, it’s like watching 2 different fighters.
Joshua beat these fighters in 2015:
• Jason Gavern
• Raphael Zumbano Love
• Gary Cornish
• Dillian Whyte
Joshua did tire out in the Whyte fight after expending a lot of energy in round 2. To his credit, Joshua was able to get it together finally in round 7 to stop Whyte. But, Joshua looked tired from rounds 2 to 6. That wasn’t a good thing.
“The man can’t box, he’s not a boxer, he’s a brawler. When he gets in there with someone who can box and move, he will get beaten, it’s as simple as that,” said Fury.
To box Joshua, you need to have the size the mobility to box him on the outside the way Wladimir was doing earlier this year in their fight on April 29. Wladimir made the mistake of getting too close to Joshua in the 11th, and he got clipped by an uppercut. Had Wladimir stayed on the outside for the remainder of the fight, he probably would have beaten Joshua.
Joshua is trying to set up a unification fight against WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker in early 2018. If that fight can get made, it’ll give Joshua a chance to prove that he’s capable of beating a good young heavyweight. Wladimir was at the end of his career at 41, and he still almost beat Joshua. Parker, 25, will show what a good young heavyweight can do with Joshua.