Klitchko really seemed to have it over him around the 5th? round but never followed it up. He appeared to stick to his long plan (tire him out and then go for it), rather than 'box' what was happening at the time.
Best heavyweight match I've watched in a long time.
what I saw:
Great fight
Klitschko was great. A much smarter fight than against Fury. I thought he was going to win by the end of the 8th round(i mean he looked the better fighter and if it was going 12 he'd have out pointed AJ). He should now retire and be happy he went out on his shield. No rematch. Great career where he was starved of quality opposition but he should be remembered as a great. Its not his fault noone was around until the end of his career.
AJ probably surprised everyone with a "late" KO. It surprised me. If it didn't happen early I expect him to gas and then the result would be a close decision. But he got that second wind and did the business. He's legit now and well done to him. He's a likeable guy, mostly respectful of his opponents in the lead up and speaks well. 5 minutes of jawing from Wilder or Fury and I'm almost ready to give up on the sport of boxing. But AJ comes across as a thinker.
Where does this leave Parker? Honestly, hopefully well out of the picture. He's not up to that. It'll be like when Cameron fought Tua. I think Parker needs at least 5kg more muscle across the chest and arms or he'll be bullied. I think he needs a new trainer or at least they need to bring in a defensive specialist to assist Barry. Ideally though i'd just get a new trainer altogether. There has been no progression with Parkers defense or his stamina and its unacceptable to have had a fighter that long and not have made any progress. Parker is especially susceptible to overhand and hooks. Effectively KO punches. The one bright spot for parker is AJs chin. If Klitschko was a power hitter it may have been his had raised. If someone like Wilder, Ortiz and even parker tags AJ I doubt he'd get back up. Getting past those massive arms is the only problem.
I don't want to throw shade on the result or defame AJ but it would not surprise me if he is on roids.
@raznomore said in Parker v ??:
I don't want to throw shade on the result or defame AJ but it would not surprise me if he is on roids.
Of the two, I'd plump for the 41 year old.
But hopefully we've seen two superior athletes at either end of their respective careers offering up the best heavyweight title fight for a very, very long time.
Barry fired some shots at claims AJ is that much better than Parker...says Parker is more skillful, quicker, and maybe AJ is slightly more powerful...he was fired up haha
they have to do that stuff ( even if they dont believe it 
) ,
have to try and stay relevant and let others know you are around still ,
all part of the game of self promotion
@kiwiinmelb I realise that, just he was pretty fired up about it, saying people that claim that know absolutely nothing about boxing, hand on his heart he wasnt being bias and all!
Wonder if we will ever find out what was on Wlad's USB?
I believe Joshua is a lot better than Joe ,
But I'm more than happy to be proven wrong
Be interesting to see if vlad takes the rematch , will be hard to knock back the money
@kiwiinmelb sounded like he wanted the rematch.
Hope there's no rematch. Would like to see Joshua go for Ortiz ahead of Pulev next if the WBA and IBF enforce mandatories. Pulev would be a waste of time going by his showing yesterday and would offer little resistance.
Deontay Wilder will be running for the hills now as he usually does and we'll probably see him in a rubbish matchup next against the winner of Chisora and Helenius or something like that.
Wilder hopefully will target JP as that is winnable for JP the AJ is not.
Ortiz offers nothing to any title holder- he was poor in his last two fights has no title and is too dangerous and not marketable enough to generate $$
Bellew is the key for JP he is very beatable but worth $$ as a self promotion machine. Wilder may want some of Bellew for same reasons.
AJ will want to fight Pulev or someone beatable b4 unifing
Really enjoyed the fight this morning. Woke up just in time to see them walking in to the ring
Like many I thought AJ was gone in the 6th. Thought he was struggling with fitness a bit too but hell he brought himself right back in to the fight and finished it impressively.
Same thoughts as many in here re Parker. Just hasn't shown the development one would expect and while he's good, I don't think he's at AJ level and not sure he ever will be. Would love him to prove me wrong though
for those that dont follow boxing closely but enjoy it ,
one to look out for next weekend ,
Canelo v Chavez, for mexican bragging rights ,
Should be a beauty
According to an article I read today about "who next for AJ" Wilder is determined to target JP next for his belt then try for a unification.
I would think that is JPs route as well.
AJ will only fight for big money now so if the rematch is turned down and Fury doesn't get his licence back then JP and Wilder would be aiming for a big payday. The longer they make AJ wait the better.
@JK Whyte is very overrated who is still living off his 1 punch against Joshua when they met. He was lucky to get a decision against an over the hill Chisora and laboured to average wins over average domestic fighters Allen and Lewison. He's also gotta get past Mariuscz Wach first which is no guarantee.
If Tyson fury gets his shit together, he could be the guy to make life difficult for Joshua.
Gets more attention from main stream media for his antics out of the ring .
But in the ring is an awkward fighter , with his reach , footwork and punch combos .
Brutal honesty. If JP beats AJ I would be as happy everyone else but I be fucken amazed as well.
I am a JP fan first and i have been picking apart AJs ability since both came into championship reckoning. I said AJ was slow had a glass jaw and tiny skinny legs that would hinder his punching power. I think its clear he is the strongest heavy weight in the world now, managed to come back from a knock down and is fast enough with his combinations to cause some damage quickly. I think his defence is better than JPs as well.
Simply put JP should dodge AJ for as long as it takes to get the fight up to where people are demanding it happen so the purse is as worthwhile as possible for JP. he needs to fight as many guys as possible and hopefully get what he needs to come at AJ. If that fails he'll walk away a multi millionaire.
I want JP to win but i also want him to look after himself.
@raznomore in all honesty , Joe wont have much trouble dodging him because I dont think they are too interested , not yet anyway
While us fans tend to look at the titles on offer , boxers , managers and promoters look more at the dollars on offer ,
They want the big money fights and Joe has little drawing power in the UK at this point in time
