British Boxing – Fury v Joshua who wins?

In my previous article about how healthy British boxing is right now with so much ability in so many weight divisions, I said I would pick a potential British fight in the not too distant future, at world level and then give my prediction if/when it happens.  Also in this article, I give my views on the current British boxing pound for pound top ten.

First fight I want to look at is at Heavyweight, Tyson Fury versus Anthony Joshua.  Currently The Ring magazine, which is highly regarded in boxing circles has Fury rated at number 4 in their heavyweight rankings, Fury is unbeaten in 24 fights, has fought and beaten fighters who have been ranked in or around the top 10 such as Christian Hammer, Steve Cunningham and Dereck Chisora who has beaten twice, he is the current European and British Heavyweight Champion and appears to soon be getting his shot at Vladimir Klitschko for the world title.

Anthony Joshua is the new man on the scene, has less experience professionally than Fury, having only 13 fights and 13 wins, his last fight was against Kevin Johnson who he demolished, and Johnson has been world rated.  The Olympic gold medallist is not world ranked by The Ring magazine currently, but the WBO do rank him as the number 3 contender, his next opponent has yet to be named but many are hoping it will be David Price, who prior to Joshua was believed to be the next big thing, but 2 losses to Tony Thompson put an end to that, however, he has rebuilt his career in Germany initially, and has won a few fights on the comeback trail.

Going back to the fight, there is no argument that Fury has the experience, the height and the reach advantage, however, even at this stage of his fledging career, I cannot see Fury’s jab or boxing ability keeping Joshua at bay. Fury is a decent fighter and in bursts looks useful but cannot sustain this for long periods, and I just see Joshua’s ramrod of a jab setting Fury up for a big right hand, and a stoppage and a win for Joshua inside 6 rounds.

For me even now, Joshua is a top 10 world heavyweight, and not sure if that shows how highly I rate him or the current stock pile of heavyweights about, probably a mixture of both.

Prediction – Joshua stoppage in the 5th round.

My top 10 pound for pound British fighters.

1. Kell Brook

2. Carl Froch

3. Amir Khan

4. Carl Frampton

5. James DeGale

6. Anthony Joshua

7. Jamie McDonnell

8. Lee Selby

9. Scott Quigg

10. George Groves.

Will give you my top 10 each month, so over to you, any thoughts?