Well folks its finally here, the biggest Heavyweight title fight in nearly two years will take place this weekend , when Anthony Joshua takes on Wladimir Klitschko for the IBF Heavyweight Title and WBA Super Heavyweight Title , in front of 90,000 at a packed Wembley Stadium , and i cannot wait . I’ve got to admit this fight has took a while to grow on me as in the excitment department  , but now its always there in the back of my mind. I find myself trying too break this one down to pick a winner for hours at a time , and even now after days as i sit down to write this , i don’t know who i am going to pick in my prediction at the end , that can only be a good thing as a boxing fan , something that we don’t get to do to much .

“If he does that on Saturday Night its game over”

I will start off with saying i still view Joshua as a “prospect” and as recent twitter activity has shown, this does offend some people , but i do have reasons for this view which i will outline . Anthony Joshua does not have a top 15 win on his resume so what do we really know about this young man . We know his power is real , i don’t think even the biggest AJ haters could argue against that , but how powerful is AJ after 10-12 rounds of being put under pressure by a credible opponent , no one knows  . Also we have only ever seen AJ being hit once when Dillion Whyte caught him, whilst Whyte himself was hurt , and Joshua’s reaction was poor, his legs stiffened and he moved back in a straight line looking for the safety of the ropes, if he does that on Saturday night its game over . But lets not be to hard on Anthony Joshua here , the reason we don’t know the answer to these questions is he’s been brought along well by Eddie Hearn, and after all the mismatches he is now stepping up to fight one of the best . Klitschko himself backed AJ to go to the top after using him as a sparring partner , and now he’s going to get to see the more matured AJ to see who’s top of the active heavyweights just now .

That night in Dusseldorf Tyson Fury made Klitschko look every bit the 40 year old Wladimir

Klitschko has been a man possesd in becoming top of the pile against since his shock loss to Tyson Fury in 2015 , but Klitschko is in a uphill battle against every boxers most feared rival ….time . That night in Dusseldorf Tyson Fury made Klitschko look every bit the 40 year old , with Wladimir looking slow and reluctant to let his hands go , and now at 41 and with no fights in the last 18 months ,is this fight going to be to much for Dr Steelhammer ? . It’s hard to judge how much we can take from that Fury fight , as Fury is one awkward costomer, just how do you prepare to fight a giant heavyweight who moves like a lightweight . One thing Klitschko has in abundence is experience, this guy has more KO’s that AJ has rounds during his ten year reign as “The Man” and Klitschko isn’t one of these boxers who only train 3 month before a fight , Klitschko is a 24/7 athlete who loves boxing . He may be 41,  but as a heavyweight who’s always in shape and lives the right way,  he may be able the cheat his old foe time for another couple years yet .  

Prediction ;

Well i have to admit , i haven’t been looking forward to this part of the preview at all as i am still on the fence . I think Anthony Joshua’s best chance of victory is trying to catch Wlad cold . Joshua has the power to take out anyone and if he goes out and pressures Klitschko from the off , the chances are he will land one of those big shots and that could end Klitschkos night .On the other hand i think the longer this fight goes the more the pendulum swings in Wlads favour . Being a seasoned vetran , i think Wlad is going to try and take AJ to places he’s not had to go to yet in his short career . Whoever wins i don’t see this one going the distance, there is far to much power from both men for it to go to the cards . Now time to pick a winner …………AJ inside 6 rounds …..but that may change before saturday night .

Steven Donnell