Joshua takes on Klitschko: Young stud vs. Dr. Steelhammer

Vlad fans can pin their hopes on a superb athlete that stayed in top shape over a long career. That spells discipline. His last ten opponents had a combined record of three hundred and forty wins against just eleven losses.

The doctor also boasts a nearly eighty percent KO ratio. Serious stuff. Joshua is just a pup, considering that over Vlad’s career he faced undefeated opponents a dozen times. He faced another dozen who had but one loss.

Toss in another eleven who only had two losses when they faced the good doctor and one can see that his pedigree and portfolio is a rare one indeed. He’s faced about twice the amount of quality fighters than Joshua has had bouts.

Joshua is Britain’s Golden Child. An Olympic gold medalist with an outstanding amateur career. He’s passed every test so far, in particular, the eye test. His physique is the epitome of what one might sculpt from clay to do battle in the heavyweight arena.

He’s pretty much demolished every professional foe he’s faced, albeit the caliber of his opposition is highly suspect at this juncture. Olympic gold? Henry Tillman and Fraudley Harrison can compare medals with Ali and Frazier, but can’t boast of an accomplished pro career.

Lots of Duane Bobicks out there as well. The fact that England’s heavyweight boxing prospects have never really struck fear in the hearts of the heavyweight landscape is also a concern. Though we must tip our cap to Lennox Lewis, who was a bonafide bloody terror, mostly we’ve been fed the Frank Bruno’s of the Isle.

Before we get ahead of ourselves in regards to Joshua, we must examine his resume. His last ten opponents won 273 fights whilst losing a whopping sixty-nine. Three of his last four bouts were against fighters over thirty years of age. And in two of those fights the opponents were undefeated, but only had sixteen, and seventeen fights each.

In other words, he’s been mowing through green-as-the-grass fighters that were not exactly spring chickens. As recently as eight and nine fights ago, his opponents had nineteen and twenty-two losses, respectively. I’ll say it. Joshua is suspect.

Vlad still has a terrific right hand, and a long, skillful jab. His stamina, if pushed hard by an aggressive Joshua, might reveal a questionable gas tank. He does not punch to the body, so he must rely on head-hunting to win. His chin is not very durable and it’s been demonstrated that he can be hit, and hit hard. His resiliency and ability to come off the canvass and war are most likely a thing of the past.

Joshua has ability, but also has flaws. He has a potent right hand, but has a tendency to reach with it. He also likes to showboat the right hand by bringing it back after a strike with a measure of elan.

Sort of when a home run hitter swings mightily and then whips his bat back to point it at the outfield. Showy, but kind of a Broner type move. The problem is that at times. he’s eyeing his handiwork and doesn’t bring his right hand back high enough for max defense. Vlad has surely noticed.

Another Joshua shortcoming lies with his hook to the head. Though accurate, he rarely turns his lower body to deliver it with maximum torque and power, so a lot of his head-aimed hooks are, in effect, arm punches. Oddly enough, he uses great form on his hooks to the body, rotating and generating an impressive amount of power.

On left uppercuts, about half the time he’s reaching from a distance; as Buster Douglas tried on Holyfield only to be KO’d with a beautiful counter right hand. Textbook; and the doctor can still, at times, deliver a textbook right hand. I believe Joshua to be a legitimate finisher, so should he stun Vlad, it could quickly be curtains.

There remains the question of Joshua’s chin. He can be hit, but his arsenal has thus far been too overwhelming to allow any frequency of incoming bombs from his opponents. Stamina? Deep waters have been known to drag folks under. But it’s not Joshua’s fault he’s steam-rolled everyone he’s faced.

It’s his management who should have provided a few stern tests that required putting in work over six to eight rounds. I note that when Tyson was taken into the later rounds he usually wilted.

Both men are tall and powerful. Both have exceptional reach at about eighty inches. Joshua is an unknown quantity when it comes to infighting, as he’s studiously avoided it, but Vlad doesn’t like it in close either, which is why he clinches so frequently. Vlad has seen it all. Joshua has barely caught a glimpse in comparison.

This is an interesting fight. I pick Joshua if the fight ends in a KO, But I’ll take Vlad if it goes the distance. How do you see it?

Blake "Racehorse" Chavez answers all of his emails. platinumpages@aol.com