I'm definitely fairweather in comparison to you guys!
I saw Joshua controlling the centre of the ring and coming forward and saw a lot of Parker's jabs not reaching their target. Interestingly what I saw as a positive GBJ saw as something that caused Joshua trouble, Parker working off the back foot.
I'm sure we will see Wilder v AJ in the not too distant future and I agree that Wilder could trouble AJ but I still make AJ favourite for that fight. Totally with you that Fury beats anyone in this division if he gets close to where he was.
I'm probably in your camp, in that Joshua came up against something he hadn't faced before, in Parker's speed and movement, and changed his plan to suit whilst still going for the KO when he thought the opening was there. He did well enough to win the fight without looking spectacular. The cards were too wide, but the right outcome was reached for the right reason.
However, and beware, this next bit became a bit of a getting it off my chest / rant type exercise, but here goes; It just feels too easy these days to bash anyone who remotely likes or supports AJ 'casual'. I hate the term myself. And any support of AJ is dismissed as a casual opinion or a fairweather fans view, and therefore invalid.
So I'm far from his biggest fan, and more than aware of his limitations, however: He's beaten everyone in front of him, he has a far better resume than Wilder and Fury, and yet he's criticised at every turn, and never gets the credit for any of his achievements. The one time he goes to cards, it's a Matchroom decision, when it's apparent to all he did win the fight. Yeah, they were wide, but it was still the right decision and there were a lot of close rounds, which could have gone either way, and if they go the way of a matchroom fight, it's a matchroom card. There are far worse cards on other show all the time.
Was AJ great on Saturday? No. Did he win? Yes. Did he adapt his style to suit a new style of opponent? Yes, and it worked. Yet, as per usual he gets nothing but stick. It's like no matter what he does, all the "non-casual" fans (read Fury fans) come out with the usual ******** about how his titles aren't legitimate, he's not a true champ, he is second rate, a 'robot', a hyped up 'bodybuilder', etc, etc.
I'm sorry, was the division just to stay on hold and wait for Fury? Of course not, other boxers picked up the mantle, won their fights and picked up the belts Fury was not capable to defend. Why does the fact he's incapable of defending his titles, diminish AJ's own achievements? As I said, AJ's CV is far more impressive than Fury's. Bar the WK fight (which was excellent by the way), Fury's is a bunch of 40 year olds, pumped up cruiserweights, and gatekeepers. In Fury's 20th fight, he was getting floored by Cunningham, a cruiserweight. Joshua had Whyte, WK, and Takam on his resume.
Neither of them deserve elite status, both have said stupid things (albeit one once to my knowledge, another repeatedly) but both do deserve kudos for their impressive achievements in the ring to date. Is Fury's victory the best of them both, yeah I'd say so. But currently, one is relevant, and the other isn't, and one is flying the flag for British boxing, the other is not. I don't understand the hate. I see as many people claiming Fury is a legend and TBE, as I do AJ.
I don't know why people simply refuse to acknowledge how well AJ is doing, he's beating what is in front of him, winning the belts, and building to a potential unification of the division, which is arguably harder to do against multiple champions, than it is to win them all in one fight. As it shows the one thing Fury hasn't been able to prove he has, consistency in high level performance. Was his win a flash in the pan, 15 minutes in the sun, or is he this incredible champion with sensational footwork, and ring craft that his one decent fight has hinted at, because the fights before WK weren't always that convincing? We simply don't know.
So to say with absolute certainty that Fury would wipe the floor with AJ, is a little bit ludicrous to me. Has Fury shown he can outbox AJ, definitely, has AJ got the power to stop Fury, absolutely.
Also, sadly, the fury-ites (who are as bad as the AJ-lites who claim he is TBE, for me) who never give AJ any credit, will all have their ready made excuse of, the WK Fury would have won easily, but he's been out of the game too long and that's the only reason AJ won, should AJ win a future encounter.
Sadly Fury's inactivity has robbed us of an intriguing HW division, and a true answer over who is best. But it doesn't mean we can't acknowledge the credit in what AJ is doing.
