9 months ago
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THE MEN that have faced both Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have predicted who they believe would win an all-British showdown.
AJ produced a brilliant second round knockout to demolish Francis Ngannou last Friday.
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That was his fourth win on the bounce as he continues his quest to try and become a three-time heavyweight world champion.
That was the first time that UFC legend Ngannou had been KOed in his career.
And it came just five months’ after he floored and then took WBC title holder Fury the distance in Saudi Arabia.
The Gypsy King is preparing to face Oleksandr Usyk on May 18 in order to unify the division, with a rematch clause inserted into the package.
Joshua is widely-believed to be set to face the winner of those showdowns.
And that means that there is the prospect of a potential gigantic tussle with compatriot and long-time rival Fury.
As well as Ngannou, who says he “would give it to AJ for right now” when quizzed about who would emerge victorious, four other men have been between the ropes with both.
They are Kevin Johnson, Dillian Whyte, Otto Wallin and Wladimir Klitschko – and here is who they believe would win the Battle of Britain clash:
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KEVIN JOHNSON
The American lost to Fury in 2012 via unanimous decision and then courtesy of KO to Joshua three years later.
He predicted: “Tyson Fury has one thing that many people can’t beat.
“It’s not skill, Anthony Joshua is definitely the more skilful fighter, but Tyson Fury is so long and in a safety zone with that reach and movement, he made Wladimir Klitschko look like an amateur.
“He didn’t do that because he has more skill, everybody knows that Klitschko would knock him out, but you’ve got to get past that reach.
“It’s like giving somebody a sniper rifle and asking somebody 20 yards away to run up on him.”
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PA:Press AssociationDILLIAN WHYTE
The Body Snatcher has just been cleared to return after an “adverse analytical finding” caused his rematch with Joshua to be cancelled last August.
He beat AJ in the amateurs, but suffered a seventh round KO when they met professionally in 2015 while he was brutally stopped in the sixth by Fury at Wembley in 2022.
When asked previously about AJ vs Fury, Whyte said: “This is heavyweight boxing, man.
“Who would’ve said Hasim Rahman or Oliver McCall would have knocked out Lennox Lewis? It’s heavyweight boxing.
“Wladimir Klitschko lost to Ross Puritty, no-one even knows that guy. There’s a case for both guys winning this fight, I think. Both guys showed a lot of versatility in their fights.
“[Joshua’s] two fights with [Andy] Ruiz and [Fury’s] two fights with [Deontay] Wilder – they’re the same guys but they’re different styles and different ways of getting the victory.
“Joshua had a loss against Ruiz, Fury had a draw against Wilder. Then Fury came off the back foot, was aggressive and knocked Wilder out.
“And Joshua came off the front foot, got on the back foot and got a points decision against Andy Ruiz.
“You see what I’m saying? It’s hard, only true fans of each guy will say, ‘This guy’s gonna win.’ It’s very hard, I don’t think no boxing purist would say, ‘This guys gonna win because of this.’”
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The Body Snatcher was brutally stopped by the Gypsy King with an upper cutGettyWLADIMIR KLITSCHKO
The legendary Ukrainian suffered a huge upset when Fury beat him in Germany in November 2015 on points to become heavyweight champ.
Klitschko and Joshua then produced a classic in front of 90,000 fans at Wembley seventeen months later as both stars hit the canvas in the rollercoaster clash.
It was eventually AJ that delivered the finisher, knocking the veteran down tice in the 11th which resulted in the ref stopping it.
And Klitschko has no doubts who would win out of AJ vs Fury, saying: “Hands down Joshua.
“He is getting to be the complete fighter. Technically, size-wise, weight-wise, power-wise. And he is a good learner. The other guy [Fury], like a fart in the wind it is there and it is gone.
“In the history of boxing there are a lot of examples of this kind of guy. They can be successful for a time but are not disciplined enough to continue to be successful.
“I wish Tyson well but I think there is a lack of discipline there, and discipline is more important than motivation.
“Drawing from my experience I would say it is going to be very difficult for Tyson because there’s that lack of discipline.”
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GettyOTTO WALLIN
The Swede was only meant to be a tune-up for Fury ahead of his rematch with Wilder in 2019 but he almost caused a huge shock.
He caused a huge gash above the Gypsy King’s right eye that almost caused the doctor to step in, only for Fury to bravely battle on and get the decision before heading to hospital to receive 47 stitches.
But AJ suffered no scares against Wallin on December 23 at Day of Reckoning in Saudi Arabia as he dished out so much punishment that his rival’s corner was forced to throw in the towel after the fifth round.
On a potential fight between the Brits, Wallin said: “Well, I would say that this fight with Joshua was a lot tougher than the fight I had with Fury.
“It’s hard to say [what would happen in a fight between Fury and Joshua]. I think that Fury’s a very good fighter. Can probably pick it up from what he was doing in his last fight.
“It’s a decent fight. We’ll see what happens with Joshua now.
“He might be on to something really good with Ben Davison, and Ben obviously knows Tyson. I don’t know. There’s a lot of variables.
“I always said that Fury would win that fight, but now just being in with Joshua, I feel a little bit different.
“It’s hard to go against Tyson I think. But, I don’t know, it’s changed my mind a bit after this fight.”
Otto Wallin inflicted this nasty gash on Tyson Fury in Las VegasGetty Images - Getty
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