The weights are in for tomorrow night’s huge heavyweight title clash between Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko, and both men look to be in absolutely fantastic physical condition. This of course is no surprise, but it might have come as a little bit of a surprise that Joshua tipped in at 250 pounds, the heaviest yet of his 18 fight pro career.
Some people felt Joshua, a real man-mountain, would weigh a little more than ex-champ Klitschko, who came in at a solid 240, but perhaps a few eyebrows were raised due to the fact that AJ weighed a full ten pounds heavier than Klitschko. Klitschko looks slim, svelte and trim; maybe the former king, who has said many times he is “obsessed” with regaining his belts, is planning on using speed, speed, speed tomorrow night.
And maybe, as bulked up and as strong as he appears to be, Joshua is planning on using his raw power against the older, some say “chinny” former champ? Both men looked great in the open workouts, but Klitschko appeared to have the faster hands. Joshua has awesome power, but what if he cannot find Klitschko’s chin tomorrow? Can we expect a lot of boxing and movement from “Dr. Steel Hammer,” at least in the first half of the fascinating bout, before he looks to unload his own bombs on a fatigued Joshua in the fight’s second half?
One man who, to my knowledge, has not yet been asked to predict the outcome of tomorrow’s Wembley showdown is young and unbeaten US heavyweight prospect Cassius Chaney. It’s good to get the opinion of a young warrior on the rise, and Cassius (yes, he is named after, you guessed it, Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali!) kindly took the time to give me his thoughts on the super-fight:
“Well, I would say that I want the young gun, Joshua, to win for us, but I believe Klitschko will pull up the upset,” Chaney said yesterday. “How will he do it? With his experience and his defence and with movement. If Joshua cannot connect easily, then who wins? This is what people need to understand. But It really is an interesting fight.”
It is indeed, as is what Chaney has to say. Many people feel they will see a power show tomorrow, as the two giants look to put each other’s lights out, but maybe we will see something different: a boxing master-class from 41 year old Klitschko.
Certainly, when looking at the two fighters, Klitschko looks built for speed while Joshua appears built for power, and for landing hurtful power punches. Might we get a surprise in the fight going the full 12 rounds?
Prediction: the fight does indeed go all 12, with Joshua winning a close, controversial decision before his enormous 90,000 crowd of supporters.