Anthony Joshua vs Wladimir Klitschko: Who will win? David Haye, Tony Bellew and Carl Froch make their predictions
How do some of boxing's leading figures see the fight going?
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Your support makes all the difference.On Saturday night Anthony Joshua will walk out in front of 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium carrying something much greater than the weight of expectation on his shoulders – the future of British boxing.
We’ve seen Nigel Benn vs Chris Eubank at Old Trafford; we’ve even seen boxing grace the national stadium before, when Carl Froch knocked out George Groves, but this fight has captured the imagination of a global audience.
The show is expected to smash box-office records in terms of pay-per-view buys in the UK. A landmark joint venture between US television giants HBO and Showtime to screen the bout stateside is testament to the enormity of this crossroads fight.
Wladimir Klitschko, 41, has had more world title fights than Joshua, 27, has had professional contests, but the IBF heavyweight champion goes into the fight as favourite.
With fight-night only a few days away, we’ve collated the opinions of some of the brightest minds in boxing to see how they view the fight.
Peter Fury
“He's [Joshua] got to come up with his own one [game plan]. They are all different styles aren't they? Nobody has got Tyson Fury's style.
“I don’t see how Joshua is going to implement that. If he tries to implement that type of boxing, there is only one winner. I think Wladimir will walk away with it.
“He's got to come for that knockout and he's got to bring it early. He's got to put Klitschko in shock, take him out of his stride, and rough him up properly. That is the only way he is going to handle Klitschko in my opinion.”
Told to Sky Sports
Deontay Wilder
“My heart is with Joshua, but my mind says Klitschko. Klitschko has been through every situation and seen every style. I don’t think the kid is ready for that—I don’t think they’ve prepared him for that.
“We will see, maybe they got an idea or a plan that they are going to stand by, we'll see what happens. It's great that those guys are fighting, just to get the ball rolling.”
Told to ESPN
Tony Bellew
“If it’s not over in the first four rounds, I’m extremely worried. Only because he’s [Joshua] very inexperienced in fights that go past four rounds.
“I just feel he [Joshua] will get rid of him in them first four rounds. He will not go in there and tread water, he will go in there and put it on Wlad, and that’s why it leads me to believe to believe that he will be victorious.”
Told to IFL TV
Hughie Fury
“I do think it's a tiny bit soon for Joshua, but I do wish him all the best and I hope he wins. I would go with Klitschko with the experience. I just think it's a tiny bit too soon for Joshua. Definitely a knockout.
“He [Klitschko] wasn't an 11-year champion for nothing. Like I say, you cannot rush into big fights like him, thinking 'yeah I'm just going to knock him over like every other man'.
“He's not going to stand there to be hit. He's not had the experience to go with someone like him.”
Told to Sky Sports
Adam Booth
“I’m going to go with youth and energy, and pick Anthony Joshua. But I’m only going by that by the slightest of margins because if Wlad did nullify Anthony’s attributes and actually can get control and win the fight I wouldn’t be surprised.
“But if you’re only as good as you’re last fight, Anthony is on the ascendancy and is improving fight by fight. Wlad’s last performance (Tyson Fury) was not good. Based on that you have to go with Anthony.”
Told to IFL TV
David Haye
“By the time the fight happens, he will be 41 years of age, and he will have been pretty much 18 months out of the ring.
“It's terrible preparation to fight someone so young and someone who has been fighting so regularly.
“You can only go by current form and in the last fight he had against Tyson Fury, he refused to let his hands go. He couldn't pull the trigger.”
Told to Sky Sports
George Foreman
“[This fight] matches the old and the new, the aggressive and the smart.
“If I were a gambler, I'd see Joshua as a 6-5 favourite. So I'd put him just in front.
“Klitschko knows how to win and how to use his body size. It will be a difficult fight. Klitschko's a good fighter. He has a good left jab and once you develop a good left jab, there's no such thing as your best days before or behind you, you are a fighter that can last forever.
“If he wins the world title again - on my God, imagine that! If Klitschko wins, the boxing world will flip out.”
Told to Sport Bild and Sky Sports
Carl Froch
“This could go one of many ways, but if I had to guess right I would say Joshua’s going to bang him out, he’ll just have too much for him.
“He’s big and strong, and has the youth and ambition at 27 years old, which could prove decisive.
Speaking at the PartyPoker Millions Event, Dusk Till Dawn Nottingham
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