LEWIS-RAHMAN MARK II?
WITH the forthcoming Anthony Joshua-jarrell Miller fight, and the media coverage so far, it has got me feeling that I’m in a time warp. I really hope I’m wrong, but it feels to me so reminiscent of the first fight between Lennox Lewis and Hasim Rahman in 2001, where there was of course an almighty upset, because Lennox did not go into the fight with his mind on the job at hand. I do hope Joshua will be taking this fight seriously, because although Miller’s record does not indicate that he is anything special, the reality is that if a 300-pound-plus guy hits you on the chin, it’s going to hurt. So a word of warning to Joshua – keep focused and take the fight seriously… and win. Stuart Greenberg
LET JOSHUA LOOSE
NOW the dust has settled on the outcome of the Deontay Wilder-tyson Fury bout, let’s consider where we are and what we know. Firstly, it is confirmed beyond a doubt that Deontay Wilder can’t box and Tyson Fury can’t punch. Secondly, the two will go on avoiding Anthony Joshua in the vain hope that his form will fall before their own does – some hope of that! Without the knockdowns, the Wilder-fury fight was a complete non-event, mainly due to Fury’s aversion to engage. What is needed is for Eddie Hearn to grow some cojones and do everything he can to let Joshua fight these two – the trouble is that he is obviously terrified of losing his golden goose. Joshua should be licking his chops at the prospect of a unification fight with Wilder or the chance to blow away Fury. Instead, he must be deeply frustrated at how this is all playing out. John Walsh
ALTERNATIVE VIEW
THE four panellists in the February 21 issue were so gushing in their praise of Andre Ward that I felt compelled to write and point out that, throughout his career, Ward seemingly fought by this mantra: ‘The tougher the opponent, the more fouls necessary.’ In my opinion, to confirm this, all you have to do is simply watch his performances against Mikkel Kessler, Carl Froch and Edwin Rodriguez. To top off your viewing, watch Ward’s pièce de résistance – the first Sergey Kovalev fight, in which referee Robert Byrd allowed Ward to get away with classics like elbowing, punching below the belt, and holding and punching. Ward also demonstrated some creative new fouls in this fight, that even Roberto Duran would’ve been proud of. For example, moving towards Kovalev as if to headbutt him, and while he is preoccupied with the incoming head, hitting him low. Also, pushing Kovalev so his body rotates clockwise or anti-clockwise, while simultaneously smashing him in the face with a left or right hook. Byrd didn’t even warn Ward, let alone dock any points from him. Many fans were also blind to these fouls. I’m absolutely convinced that Ward would’ve been disqualified in a British ring, so if he fought Joe Calzaghe in a fantasy fight in the UK, my money would be on a Calzaghe disqualification victory. Some of the eminent US journalists and commentators criticised Ward, Byrd and the judges for what occurred in the first Ward-kovalev fight, but there was relative silence from many of the UK pundits. The upshot of this is that casual British fans now think that any criticism of Ward is an extreme position to hold. The answers given by the panellists confirm that even experienced UK pundits only recall a very sanitised version of how Ward fought against his toughest opposition. Paul Wakefield