For the first time in a long time boxing has been blessed with an active, and exciting heavyweight division. It’s been even longer since we’ve had two undefeated heavyweight champions, with over 90% knockout ratios, on a collision course with each other. The guys I’m talking about are Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder.

Joshua is the current WBO, IBF, and WBA champion boasting a 21-0 with 20 KO’s record.

Deontay is the current WBC champion, with a record of 40-0 and 39 KO’s.

Both guys have dominated every man they’ve stepped in the ring with, and recently, both men have passed what seemed to be the biggest test of their careers.

After struggling for 9 rounds vs Luis Ortiz, Wilder was finally able to put the undefeated Cuban heavyweight down in the tenth round to win the toughest fight of his career.

Then a few weeks after, Joshua faced undefeated heavyweight champion Joseph Parker and won a 12 round unanimous decision over him and taking his belt to collect a total of 3. With only one belt away from becoming the undisputed champ.

That one belt, belongs to Deontay Wilder.

These men have beat all the challengers in their division, and they are the only thing standing between one of them becoming the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world.

So that being said, who has the best chance at becoming the undisputed heavyweight champ?

Let’s break this fight down.

Strengths and Weaknesses

The first thing we will do is break down each fighter’s strengths and weaknesses. These fighters have dominated everyone they stepped in the ring with but when it comes to fighting each other, it’ll be those small chinks in the armor that can make all the difference.

So let’s breakdown what each fighter does well, and not so well.

Anthony Joshua Strength’s

Joshua is a one of those fighters that does just about everything well but a few of his attributes stand out more than others. Those are his defense, footwork, inside fight game and of course, his power.  

Defense

One thing that is very underrated with Joshua is his defense. He has a fighting style where he usually walks down the opponent and fighting within punch range the whole time, yet very seldom actually gets hit. This is because he is one of the few fighters today who actually keeps his hands up. He is also always “ON” and never gets comfortable when he knows his opponent is within striking distance. He dodges and slips punches really well so it’ll be a tough puzzle for Wilder to solve.

Footwork

Part of the reason that he is hard to hit is he is surprisingly good on his feet despite being 250 pounds all muscle. Part of his defensive game is moving in and out with impressive agility.  He demonstrated this against Parker, being able to walk Parker down and step out in time to dodge Parker’s punches without being hit. This is one of the more underrated tools in his belt.

Power

This probably the most obvious, Joshua has incredible punching power that rivals past power punching legends. He is in the class of power with guys like Tyson, Frazier, and maybe even Big George Foreman. With 20 of his 21 victories coming by way of knockout, the power speaks for itself. With this kind of power, no matter how good your chin is, you could be taken out. Especially if he catches you with his right uppercut, which is his most vicious punch.

Inside Fighting

Another tool of Joshua’s that goes unnoticed is inside fighting. Joshua fights tremendously well on the inside.  He has a way of tucking his chin and landing hooks to the body as a distraction before going upstairs with hooks and uppercuts with good accuracy. The scariest part is he explodes on the inside with less controlled power than he uses on the outside. This spells hurt for his opponents. This is a rare skill for a guy his height, which is why it goes unnoticed.

Wilder’s Strengths

Wilder is one of the most criticized heavyweight champs of all time. Most people are misled by his style because at times it can be a little “wild” (no pun intended). However, usually his swinging for the fence style is well warranted and well timed. Let’s talk about some of his biggest strengths.

Speed

One thing that everyone notices about Wilder is he is a FAST heavyweight. Having a thin frame is his advantage because he is able to be quicker than his colleagues with both hands and feet. His counters land swiftly and they hurt. Even when he swings wildly, the punches are quick and explosive and usually land right on the mark.

Angles

One of the things that confuses his opponents is that Wilder doesn’t throw the traditional punches. His punches tend to come from different angles and he can be an awkward guy to fight. This makes defending against him very hard and definitely something noteworthy of being a strength.

Reflexes

Wilder is a fighter that keeps his hands down most of the fight but he can get away with it because he is tall, rangy, and has great reflexes. Part of the reason he is hard to hit is because he can see your punches coming and gets out of the way. The only time we saw him hurt bad was against Luis Ortiz, when he caught him with a sneaky right hook on the inside. His reflexes are what allow him to set-up counters.

Power

It can be argued that Deontay Wilder has the hardest punch in the heavyweight division today. He is one of the hardest punchers the heavyweight division has ever seen. Some of his opponents have quite literally went to sleep when he hit them. Wilder possesses enough power to get anyone out of there.

Strengths They Will Test - Heart and IQ

There are two things the guys these guys share but we don't quite yet know who has more of which. Both these guys have shown heart. Joshua when he survived the knockdown from Klitschko and came back to knock him out. Then Wilder when he survived being hurt and pummeled by Ortiz, and also came back to knock him out.

They’ve also both shown great ring IQ and ability to adjust to their opponents. This is something Wilder definitely doesn't get enough credit for. He has an innate ability to fight and thinks about the fight in a way that you cannot teach.

When they meet, we will see who has the bigger heart or bigger fight brain.

Joshua’s Weaknesses

Despite being a pretty complete fighter overall, he has a few weaknesses that can be exploited.

Defense at Distance

One thing I noticed about Joshua is he brings his defense tight when he is within punch range. However, when he is out of punch range he tends to relax his defense a bit, perhaps to conserve energy. His hands are still up and he gives the aura of defense, however it isn't a good enough poker face. This is something Wlad was able to exploit, which is how he got the knockdown. If you can bait him to step in and then cut that distance before he sees it, you can land punches on him all night.

Drops the Right

Joshua has a bad habit of dropping his right hand after firing it off, especially when it misses. This can create a counter left hook opportunity. If you’re fast enough, you can counter off the right and catch him flush.

Wilder’s Weaknesses

Wilder is on the flip side, because he gets criticized more than he should. He may not be orthodox, but he is definitely not as flawed as some claim he is. However, he does have some holes in his game.

Openings

One of the major weaknesses Wilder has is he leaves himself open when he thinks he hurt you. He is usually pretty calculated about this, but once he sees a slight wobble or step back after he hits you, he will try and end you. His strength is that he is a great finisher but it is also his weakness.  

All you have to do is pay possum, and once he fires off, make him miss, go off balance and make him pay. The danger is he will be shooting his shots full strength, but if you can counter off them you can find success.

Inside Fighting

One things many haven't been able to do is get Wilder on the ropes. However, one thing I noticed early is Wilder is not very good on the ropes at all. He doesn't get the same leverage on his punches and doesn’t get to use his range. The hard part is getting him there, but once he is there, he isn't able to do much but try to get off of them.

Keys to Victory

Given both guy’s strengths and weaknesses, each guy will have to do something different to win the fight. Here are the keys to victory for both of them.

What Joshua Needs to do to Win

One of the things Joshua can do to make the might easier for him is take two to three rounds and find a way to get Wilder on the ropes and smother him. Joshua is more powerful on the inside while Wilder is less powerful on the inside. If Joshua can get inside and smother him, he can take away most of Wilder’s strengths, the power, the reflexes, and the reach.

Another thing he can do is play possum when he is on the outside. If he gets hit take a few steps back and then catch Wilder mid attack.

What Joshua doesn't want to do is stay in the middle of the ring with Wilder, that is a game I think Wilder would prefer. It’s where the soil is best for him to land a bomb.

Wilder Keys to Victory

Unlike Joshua, what Wilder will want to do is stay on the outside. That is where Joshua relaxes his defense. If Wilder can stay out of punch range and then use his speed to leap in with a quick straight right, it could spell a nightmare for Joshua.

While staying on the outside, he could bait Joshua to step in and throw his one two. However, once Joshua fires off the right hand, Wilder can take the opportunity to counter with a left hook right over the right hand and follow up with a right hand straight down the pipe. Because Wilder can throw at different angles, he can pull this off all night.

The key for both guy’s will be to use their strengths to take advantage of the other guy’s weaknesses. Its as simple as that in any fight.

Who Wins?

This fight is truly A 50/50 fight. Both guys have heart, IQ, a good chin and power to put the other guy out. What it will come down too is who planned better for fight night.

Who has the better corner come fight night might make all the difference. Physically these guys are evenly matched. So it will all come down to the game plan and strategy.

Battle of Distance

One thing this will be is a battle of distance. The key for Joshua will be to keep it close, the key for Wilder, to keep it far.

My Prediction

The prediction I can make is that this fight will not go the distance. But if we are speaking true odds, this fight is really 50/50. These guy are extremely evenly matched and I wouldn’t be surprised if see them go to a trilogy.

However, if I had to bet my life on it, I would say Joshua because he's fought a higher level of opposition and has a better corner who focus more on strategy and are more adaptable. 

Battle of the Undefeated Titans

This is a very exciting fight, and in my opinion the biggest matchup since Mayweather - Pacquiao. You have to undefeated heavyweights who have mopped their opposition, looking to become the undisputed heavyweight champions of the world. This is as big as it gets in boxing.

Who do you have winning?

Drop me a comment below and let me know!

Brawl all day!