Heavyweight Division

[shamrock]

We think alike mippy. Klit may do this.
One would have thought they would have waited till after the rematch before splintering off titles etc..

[diehard]

Klit is a slight favourite right now. Here's the AJ vs Whyte article. I'll try to see if they're showing it on SKY:

Exclusive: Whyte knowing true Joshua can be a game-changer - Wilder
WORLD BOXING NEWSWORLD BOXING NEWS
MONDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2015 9:47 AM GMT
Deontay Wilder backed Dillian Whyte to at least ruffle the feathers of British rival Anthony Joshua on Saturday night, without going as far as predicting an upset in a recent interview with WBN.

The current WBC heavyweight champion could be facing the winner of the O2 Arena clash at some point over the next 18 months and sees Whyte as a live opponent for Olympic gold medallist Joshua - who is yet to go past three rounds as a professional.

“I'm looking forward to his fight with Dillian Whyte. I like Dillian Whyte as a fighter and as a person. I think he's very confident in what he does and he's mind strong which I like about him,” Wilder exclusively told World Boxing News.

“He did beat Joshua in the amateurs, but it's so different from the pros. It's totally different, so I wouldn't dwell too much on the amateur fight. But if Dillian Whyte comes with the grinding mentality he had in the amateurs - and that roughness – it's going to be a fight.

“I've seen the press conference and sometimes when two fighters know each other and where you come from, you know you grew up together in the same area and you know the truth about that person away from the camera, like he said he knew about Femi - sometimes it can be a game-changer.

“When you get around someone who really knows that truth about you, it can be a whole different ballgame like Dillian was saying, so I want to see that fight and I'm looking forward to it.”

Joshua, 26, is earning rave reviews and being hailed as a future world title holder by many in the sport, but Wilder says a lot could be learned from this fight and expects an entertaining contest between the fierce enemies.

“It's going to be a good fight and definitely a tester for Joshua due to the fact that he may look back on those amateur days and remember how that was. He got knocked down and he lost, but the only mentality he can have now is; 'that was in the amateurs and now we pros I'm a different fighter now' - and may the best man win.

“If I was Anthony that's the mentality I would have,” he added.

[Kiwi]

As I said, this should be a WAR and I give Whyte a decent chance of an upset.

-Kiwi

[shamrock]

Yep that's all good too Kiwi, I agree. And this is what makes in interesting fights you would agree. If AJ comes through this alright he will have put to bed a confidence barrier and become more foremidamal.

[Nigs]

I agree that this is not a given fight for AJ by any stretch of the imagination.

There is a lot of history involved in this fight. Emotions running high. This will be a good test to see where AJ is in his career, and to see how he deals with the pressure. Remember Whyte put him down in the ams and got a decision against him. So the psychological advantages to Whyte.

Whyte is 3 fights (I think) back from a 2 year ban for doping so that may also play a part.

Interesting fight, I'm still backing AJ.

[shamrock]

Me too Nigs, all the way.

[Kiwi]

Sham - I like your word "foremidamal."

Of all the words I have seen you use - that is the one.

You may need to patent it.

[diehard]

Sham and Fai have their own vocabulary.

Sham, honestly, you have me talked into thinking AJ is the next Joe Louis. Fights a little like him. Of course Colonel Bob thinks Parker is the next Muhammad Ali. Me, I'm just a poor bloke trying to earn a living off the nzboxchat membership. Has everyone paid up???

[diehard]

Dillian Whyte Questions ‘Fake’ & ‘Insecure’ Joshua’s Mental Strength

Olly Campbell - December 7, 2015 - 4 comments

Dillian Whyte (16-0, 13ko) has questioned bitter rival Anthony Joshua’s (14-0, 14ko) mental strength ahead of their much-hyped, grudge British and Commonwealth heavyweight title clash on Saturday night, saying that he feels the gold medal winning Olympian is too heavily reliant on his promotional ‘hype-machine’ and myriad elite resources, stating mentally, the man he calls ‘Fake-J’ is feeling the heat inside.

The two will step between the ropes on Saturday night, 6 long years after their 2009 amateur encounter that saw Joshua knocked down and defeated on points, and Whyte, while being a considerable betting underdog for this fight, is supremely confident that he has the tools to defeat his big-hitting rival in the pros, using skills honed over recent months under former Emanuel Steward charge, Johnathon Banks.

Bad tempers have flared in the much-hyped build-up to the fight, with a highly entertaining ‘The Gloves Are Off’ episode, recently screened by broadcaster Sky Sports, in which the two had to be separated by security after the cameras turned off, moments after Whyte had continually taunted his rival with the insinuation that he ‘has his number.’

“It was a good episode but Sky and Matchroom are playing games. It was cut so much, at least 20-30 mins, it was cut to pieces, there was so much you didn’t see,” Whyte exclusively told EastsideBoxing. “But hey, they want to make the ‘Golden Boy’ look a certain way. It’s cool. I know he is a liar and a fraud.

“What you see is a lie, his whole team is a lie. Tony Sims ain’t his trainer, it’s like he’s just taking credit for next man’s work! Listen, they’ve [Matchroom/Sky TV] put everything into him, but there’s a saying my old grandpa used to say….’Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.’

Joshua appeared to remain mostly unflappable in the episode, and a picture of serene, professional calm, a demeanor Whyte says is all part of an image cultivated purely by the set-up around him. Sitting and looking Whyte in the eye, Joshua promises he will make ‘easy work’ of him.

“That’s just all his sports psychiatry [sic] telling him ‘say this’ or ‘say that!,” Whyte laughed. “That’s just the people around him saying it because they know he’s insecure! How can he say that? He must be drunk! It’s just talk. I’m not light work for no one in the heavyweight division.

“He’s living in a bubble, just watch the things he says, the way he acts. It’s all just media training, how he carries on, the things he says. He can’t be himself.”

Whyte is also under no illusions that he is the ‘away’ fighter against the hugely popular Joshua, even in his home city, and claims he has been unaffected by all the behind-the-scenes mind games and unsettling tactics that go with being in such a position.

“[Promoter] Eddie Hearn has played a lot of games in the build-up, which is understandable because I’m going in there to beat ‘Golden Boy’ up. This is a business. They trying to rattle me and get in my mind but it’s all good for me,” he stated confidently. “It’s business, he has a lot invested in Anthony Joshua.”

Whyte has also been tipped to win the fight by WBC heavyweight champon, Deontay Wilder, and while accepting and mildy flattered by the praise, he says he and Banks have planned their game plan precisely out at the Klitschko training base in Austria, and other opinions – of fighters or fans – are of no real consequence.

“We are going up a level fighting somebody who is just as ambitious as I am…. supposedly,” Whyte said. “I will box smart, take it easy and see how he responds to the shots I’m gonna hit him with, and see what happens.

“But you know me, I’m one of them fighters that always wants to be involved in the KO in big fights. I wanna be remembered like guys like Nigel Benn, Mike Tyson, you know, good fights the fans talk about years after I’m gone. That’s the reputation I want to leave after I leave boxing.

“If [Joshua] gets blown out by me in a round or two, of which there is a very high possibility, what is he gonna do?
“I possess a lot of power in both hands. If I do what I’m supposed, box how I’m supposed to box and get my shots flowing, I will beat him. How I do that, we’ll see, but I’m going in there to win and to prove my level and my class.”

Twitter @undilutedpoison

[shamrock]

Formidable, there Kiwi I did it