Whilst many have accused Joshua of holding back the fearsome shots that sent him to the top of the heavyweight division in quick time, one of his opponent’s trainers has now compared the Brit’s shot selection to Mike Tyson’s.
Joshua knocked out all of his first 20 opponents, including the likes of Wladimir Klitschko, Carlos Takam and Charles Martin in five world title fights.
Joseph Parker in 2018 was the first man to take him the distance and since then he has lost three times, had two more points wins and just two knockouts.
Speaking on TalkSport, Deontay Wilder’s trainer and former heavyweight, Malik Scott, was musing on Joshua’s size and power just days after Eddie Hearn confirmed terms have been agreed for both men to face each other.
“[People in America think that] he’s a big guy that can fight, he’s got too many muscles. It seems like Stateside people talk more about his build than his skillset. In my opinion, Joshua puts together punches more than any heavyweight in the last 10-15 years, I mean combinations.”
He went on to make a comparison with one of heavyweight boxing’s most legendary names.
“With AJ’s build and his size, I’ve seen him put together punches like an early Mike Tyson put together shots.”
He was then asked to asses where his charge Wilder sits in the pantheon of heavyweight greats and he put him right up there alongside just two other modern fighters.
“I think in any era Deontay Wilder’s presence would have been felt by [Muhammad] Ali, [George] Foreman, everybody. I believe he would be a force to be reckoned with in any era. I think the same with Tyson Fury, but I’m not too sure about the too many of the other guys. Oleksandr Usyk also, he’s better than he gets credit for.”
Fans might say the difference in eras is poor matchmaking, with Wilder and Joshua still unable to put pen to paper and make a fight. That took another hit recently.