Old master versus golden boy

Klitschko told journalists that he had been boxing for as long Joshua had been alive

Throughout Anthony Joshua’s brief but dominant 18-fight career, every once in a while boxing fans have asked themselves just one question: Is this guy actually that good? He is, of course, deliciously good. So savage and so absorbing to watch that his first 14 fights didn’t go beyond the third round. At times, he knocked out people — Matt Legg, Michael Sprott, Gary Cornish — while some of the audience were still searching for their seats. The scariest thing in a boxing ring since Mike Tyson? Without a doubt. 

As unbelievable as it sounds, the “how good is he?” argument against a man who has crushed every opponent in his path has little do with performance; it has to do with the men he has confronted. The truth is that Joshua has never seen anything like Wladimir Klitschko before. Dillian Whyte, Dominic Breazeale and Eric Molina were all fine, capable fighters, but weren’t accompanied by understanding and tact accumulated over 20 years in the prize-fighting game, and definitely not by freakish winning streaks lasting more than a decade. 

In the past, Joshua may have vanquished opponents in the blood-splashing, senses-splattered-all-over-the-canvas style that has become unmistakably his own, but Klitschko’s brand of pugilistic genius is still undiscovered territory for the 27-year-old from Watford. To put it bluntly, Joshua has never really been punched before, and there is understandable anxiety over how he would react if does eventually get hit. Moreover, despite being 41 now, there is reason why Klitschko is still hailed as the finest heavyweight since Lennox Lewis. 

Klitschko, earlier this week, told journalists that he had been boxing for as long Joshua had been alive. Joshua countered the Ukrainian by saying that it was a defining fight for Klitschko since it comes almost at the end of his career. This is a done-it-all master versus upcoming golden boy fight in the truest sense of the word. At stake are the IBF, vacant WBA (Super) and IBO heavyweight titles. A sellout Wembley crowd, which has splurged almost £8 million on tickets, waits in fervent anticipation. 

The fight itself is not the easiest to call. Klitschko was made to look largely ineffectual and ponderous by Tyson Fury in their title fight in November 2015. Had the fight happened a few years earlier, Klitschko would’ve knocked out Fury, a seemingly unfit, beer-loving buffoon, in his sleep — all hidden signs of Klitschko’s decline were brutally unmasked by Fury. As for Joshua, it remains to be seen if he can knockout a man of Klitschko’s size and might, and more importantly, experience. 

Against Fury in Dusseldorf, Klitschko was caught terribly off-guard by the Englishman’s unwieldy movement and monstrous size, never really being able to establish any sort of foothold in the fight. He hasn’t stepped into the ring since. Meanwhile, Joshua has fought four times in the same period, the highlight of which was a second-round obliteration of former IBF heavyweight champion Charles Martin. Mostly, the more active boxer holds the edge in such fights, a notion that has been repeatedly dismissed by Klitschko in the past few weeks. 

Something similar to the 1980 Larry Holmes-Muhammad Ali affair may seem like a fantasy, but that can actually become a gory reality if Joshua is in his element and the punches land at the dizzying speed and crude force we’ve become accustomed to seeing, and if Klitschko tries to revel too much in his pomp and endures one of his hopelessly feeble nights — something that happened when he faced Fury. 

Generally, Klitschko likes to jab to keep his opponent in check and hooks when he gets too close. What Klitschko would do really well is to stay out of Joshua’s hitting zone and try to negate the champion’s power. For those who tune in to boxing matches only infrequently, Klitschko’s gigantic size can sometimes be an illusion — he has been knocked out cold three times before and Joshua would surely know that. The real challenge for Joshua, however, would be the cagey, tactical fight that Klitschko is likely to dish out. Patience is not Joshua’s game — he is like a hurricane with no appetite for slow-burners. 

The prelude to this duel hasn’t been heavyweight-like: the two men have been their gracious selves; almost no sardonic gibes have been exchanged. The fight, rest assured, will be anything but. If the punters are to be believed, tonight promises to be an unkind conclusion to one legendary heavyweight career and the glorious beginning of another.