Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury are widely regarded as two of the best heavyweights of their generation, but one former world heavyweight champion has gone against the grain and slammed the pair.
The man in question is James ‘Buster’ Douglas, who shocked the world back in 1990 shocked the world when he claimed a knockout win over previously unbeaten Mike Tyson at the Tokyo Dome in Japan to become world heavyweight champion, heading into the bout as a 42-1 underdog.
Another fighter that recently lost their undefeated record was Fury, coming up short in his undisputed heavyweight title clash against Oleksandr Usyk last month.
Since that fight, many fans have been speculating on who would come out on top between ‘The Gypsy King’ and Joshua, who is currently in a fine run of form after knockout wins over Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou.
Douglas is less than impressed with the British duo though, telling Gambling Zone that he feels neither of them would have been classed as top 30 heavyweights during his era.
“I speak to my trainer about today’s heavyweights and he has a low opinion of them and says they [Fury and Joshua] wouldn’t have been in the top 30 in my era, I have to agree. They have skills, but as far as endurance, I don’t know. They don’t seem to be able to withstand power and aggressiveness.”
Douglas also gave his view on what would happen if Joshua fought Fury, and felt that there is a clear winner in the bout.
“Right now I think AJ beats Fury. It’s not that Fury is on the decline, he just no longer has that strength to withstand that force. Once you start putting your punches together, he tends to get weak as the fight goes on and his power levels start faltering.
“It’s a strong possibility that AJ would knock Fury out, I think he would. He would definitely take Fury out. It would not go the distance, AJ would knock him out. And AJ-Usyk is right now also a good one. I’d say AJ beats Fury and AJ Usyk is 50-50. AJ is looking like he’s on mission and he’s finally got it together and he’s changed some things.”
Finally Douglas revealed how he felt ‘AJ’ may have done in the ring against Mike Tyson, believing that Joshua would have struggled against his former rival, although he feels there is one current fighter he feels may be good enough to come out on top.
“I would say Usyk would have had the best chance to beat Mike. All of Mike’s opponents were easy for him until he fought me. Joshua is no different than anybody else, so yes, Joshua would have been an easy fight for Mike.”
As for Tyson, he is set to return to the ring to face Jake Paul later this year, in an extremely controversial bout which has been heavily criticised by many onlookers.
Boxing Social is now on WhatsApp! Join our channel by clicking here and getting all the latest boxing news direct to your phone.