Not much interest in Joshua - Martin

Surprised there's no chat about this weekend's title fight.

Interesting for a number of reasons. I don't view Martin as a valid champion. Winning the belt in a bizarre fight that only happened because they stripped Fury. Didn't think he looked great against Glazkov for as long as that lasted and there's nothing in his record that stands out.

Still it should present AJ's biggest test yet. He's big enough and on paper has more experience than AJ. However I reckon AJ takes this without too many problems. I think he'll have learned a lot from the Whyte fight. AJ within 6 rounds for me. Martin to retreat into his she'll the first time he feels AJ'S power then it's only a matter of time.

I don't have much interest in this one. Joshua should chop him down pretty easily.

Yes a fight that only happened because they stripped Fury. And then won by default when Glazkov got injured. The epitome of a paper champion.

As far as I'm concerned both fighters are untested, and have fought nobody of note so far. The fact that it's a Brit fighting for a strap provides some interest, but as a match-up... meh...

Part of me wants Martin to win in style, as I'm increasingly annoyed by the AJ hype - and his absurd PPV status. But nevertheless, Josh should win. I just hope he follows it up by fighting a genuine contender sooner rather than later.

I wrote a post roughly the same time as the Group Cpt. However it had the same sentiments so they could be merged.

Neither fighter has much in the way of names on their record and this fight will be the making of one of them. I very much doubt it will be Martin. Hostile home crowd, big stadium, coupled with an animated Olympic champion with big power - there's more pressure on Martin in my eyes. From what little I have seen of him, I don't rate him too highly. If he's got a decent chin, then I agree with the Group Cpt that it'll be all over by the end of 6. If Martin's chin is poor it won't make the bell and the end of the 3rd.

I expect Joshua will win by KO. But think there is some value in backing Martin. He obviously has reasonable power himself and Joshua left us with some questions regarding his defence after fighting Dillian Whyte.

I am going to have a small bet on Martin by KO.

Actually a good fight. The fact that it is for a strap is ludicrous. But a good fight nonetheless

Still yet to make my mind up if I get this... Out for my best man's birthday and it's likely to end up being a messy affair. Would rather not order it then have to watch it in the cold light of day whilst trying to avoid the result.

Fight itself intrigues me. Martin isn't exactly a pillow puncher who's going to come here and roll over. Got something like 21 stoppages in 24 fights. Joshua showed chinks in his armour against Whyte, can he take a whack off a more established pro? He's a leftie as well. Card itself is pretty good, so not sure why people are complaining.

I think the lack of interest reflects the general perception that it's a relatively straight forward win for Joshua, which given that Martin seems open to a straight right might well be the case.
I am interested in seeing Benn Jr for the first time, if he's anywhere near as good as Benn Sr suggests, then he's a welcome additional to an already exciting group of British fighters around the middle weight div.

I had a moan about the ticketing but the fight and card itself is decent. Always interesting to watch Selby and Rose Macklin could be a good scrap (I'm favouring Rose for that.).

Josh Martin: credit to Martin for making this his first defence. Clearly backs himself to take this fight. I don't think he stands much of a chance, personally. From my limited knowledge of heavyweights I don't believe CM has fought anyone even as good as Dillian Whyte, so Josh should have way too much for him.

Prior to fighting Whyte, I was all for rushing AJ to the title as I didn't think there were enough gatekeepers in the division that could teach him anything. However, I think AJ learned a lot fighting Whyte and hopefully he can continue his progression Saturday.

As people are saying, Martin is only a champion by default and Joshua certainly isn't going to be no.1 in the division by beating him. Hopefully he can continue to improve, and fight the Wlad/Fury/Wilder in the next 12 months or so.

Just watched 'Behind the Ropes' for both fighters.
I was moaning about the theatrics on the 360 and 24/7 programmes, but I think I will get back to enjoying them based on the hour I've just wasted on a day off!!

To be fair, its rare nowadays to have two top ten guys facing off without a belt.

It's a strange fight.  AJ has only once boxed beyond the third round and that was only 7 rounds.  He got tagged by Dillian Whyte in the second round and a more seasoned professional may have finished AJ off, exploiting AJ lack of experience.  His defence looked suspect and he lacked a jab.

Charles Martin has only fought beyond the fourth round once and that went 10 rounds.  He was more or less given the IBF belt by default when his opponent keeled over all by himself.  Looking at what is available on youtube he seems to have fought bums in town halls.  He looks sluggish and ponderous and seems to be carrying excess flab around the waist.  He has good hand speed but his defence looks suspect.  It is good that he has taken this fight as it should be a nice little earner for him.  Maybe the best time to catch AJ is when he is lacking experience, but Charles Martin himself looks nothing special at all.

Strange title fight.

The problem is the hype us British are fed - Hearn saying its going to be one of those "where were you moments" its an ok matchup between two up and coming heavies, the IBF belt is absolutely meaningless and if Joshua wins he's about as a legitimate champion as Joe Bugner was with the WBF belt. Apparently Brook is an absolute monster of the Welterweights, Callum Smith is a monster in the Super Middles - yet none of the buggers seem to fight anyone half decent. For all that we here British Boxing is thriving we really still only have one legitimate champion - which is Tyson Fury.

Cheers. Rodders

Find myself looking for flaws in AJ rather than getting excited about his KO power. A more savvy fighter than Martin may just cause him one or two problems but without seeing much of martin it's virtually impossible to say whether or not even Martin possesses the ring savvy to exploits some of AJ's flaws. I think AJ still lacks sufficient head movement, still comes in in straight lines and seems to drop his right when he's not concentrating on keeping it up. Martin may make him walk onto a shot and, if it wobbles him, we'll see if Martin has what it takes to get the job done or if in fact Joshua has actually learned from the Whyte fight.

It could be Bruno/Bonecrusher all over again.

Then again, given what I've just said, maybe Joshua wins in three and hardly breaks sweat

Twitter is mental for it, it's bigger than the Whyte fight and that did 400k PPV buys, this will break half a million.

Twitter is mental full stop. It's only on forums like this where everyone is so very, very knowledgeable that they're reticent about going overboard with enthusiasm.

Not really, if you talk to the right people you realise they aren't all numpties on Twitter.

But you have to remember, major fights are pushed by casual fans, casual fans make fights major, the hardcore fans know this isn't the worlds greatest match, but it's pretty damn relevant I think, if we look at boxing for what it really is. I can imagine the winner, most likely Joshua, will prove themselves to be a major force in the division and likely next year to be challenging to be top of the tree.

I think Joshua most likely faces Haye next year, which I think is an excellent match should he come through, but I can bet there will still be people moaning "What, a prospect with a gifted paper belt facing a former paper champion who hasn't fought anyone of any note for the past 4 years? No thanks." But that's the world we live in.

Far too early to tell if either Martin or AJ (or even Fury for that matter) will hold onto their belts very long, it could end up being a massive game of pass the HW parcel and make us misty eyed for the days of Wlad (yup, that bad)

Lots of people on Twitter seem to think that AJ stands no chance against Fury on the back of his performance against Wlad, AJ is a totally different fighter to Wlad and I'm pretty confident AJ would at least try to cut the ring off and make it a fight... Not just attempt a jab jab grab with someone bigger and quicker never really attempt to turn it into a fight. Not dissing Wlads legacy or saying Joshua is so much better, but I think AJ is a major threat to Fury if he gets past Martin... Agree?

Not at this moment, AJ's lateral movement is poor and from the clips I've seen of him sparring recently he doesn't look to have improved greatly. The only saving grace is that, up to press, Fury has only managed to pull one magic rabbit out of the hat in his career and there's nothing to suggest thus far that it was nothing more than an anomaly albeit a very effective one. The rematch with Wlad will tell us more about whether or not Fury's gone from a Grade C to a Grade A fighter. I'm skeptical though. Talk about hiding your light under a bushel. It's like a club runner suddenly breaking the 10 sec barrier in athletics, you have him drug tested...or perhaps a football team battling relegation on season and then next season being four wins away from lifting the title, you'd have them tested as well, wouldn't you?

Great prospect Joshua, but unfortuantely being turned into a manufactured vehicle to take the public for a ride.

Seen nothing of Martin (has anyone?) other than clips of his win over a one legged man for a title stripped of the only legitimate champion in the division.

I also think dressing up the fight as something its not and flogging it on ppv wont sit well with a lot of genuine boxing fans.

You would expect Joshua to be a major player in the division. The competition isnt exactly stiff.

Aj will be knocked out the  weekend

Really looking forward to this fight between two Heavyweight prospects. Have seen quite a bit of Martin and followed his career. He's big with decent power but a bit cumbersome and tends to carry his hands low.
I know the IBF title being on the line brings questions but as a fight it's a good one and will be interesting to see how it plays out. Still question marks about both fighters.

Could this be a David Price / Tony Thompson moment?

Forget the titles, they've become pretty meaningless these days. Is a good testing fight for AJ and for the 6 rounds it lasts should be a good fight.

This is the only 50/50 fight I can remember where one guy is a 4/1 outsider..

Aj got lucky Martin a paper champ means nothing if aj wins Tyson fury the real champ

This is a good fight for AJ, he going in the right direction. Martin about number 8 then probably be fighting Parker next who is about the 6th best HW.
This will be a money fight sold on the U.K.-Aus sporting rivalry.
But I agree, no way tonight makes AJ a champion.

Martin is as much a novice as Joshua, with a record that is probably less impressive. Crazy stuff the billing this contest is getting and cringy how they are packaging this at Sky by completely ignoring the hard reality.

Its unfortunate how much influence these totally ridiculous governing bodies have, despite having zero credibility. No benefit to the fans at all. Just additional pointless madatories, ludicrous world rankings and shamless ripping off.

Stripping a valid champion for no real reason at all so that two novices can fight for the belt (i.e marketing opportunities that accompany holding an arbitary world title)

Anyone seen a running order? What time is Selby on?

Not sure what's wrong. I've brought it. Not going lie.

Good cross roads fight with Macklin vs Rose....Selby vs Hunter should be good as well.

Martin is undefeated and can bang, he is a slick southpaw. We probably know more about Joshua then this guy...he could be a surprise.
I'm excited for a good night boxing.

Let's forget about the title

The fight itself is a good one

Macklin has this no way he has fallen that far

Remember when he sparked alcine in one round

Just can't get excited for this... I've seen a little bit of Martin and yes he can punch and he's a lefty. But he's slow, ponderous and open. Yes he could land a hayemaker but unless he's got George chuvalo's chin I'd be surprised if this goes past 3.

aja424 wrote:This is a good fight for AJ, he going in the right direction. Martin about number 8 then probably be fighting Parker next who is about the 6th best HW.
This will be a money fight sold on the U.K.-Aus sporting rivalry.
But I agree, no way tonight makes AJ a champion.

Parker is nowhere near the top 10, he's a good notch behind both Martin and Joshua.

And as for the undercard... Largely Brit names v stiffs. If there's a shock tonight, the best chance  of a competitive fight is hunter v selby.

Disapointing to see McDonnell in against an opponent of this ability, you only see the best of him when he's in against better opponents.

I decided with the Masters on this weekend I'd watch that instead... so I passed on this....Not PPV worthy for me..

However I was hoping for some updates on here...

Being let down..

me too truss. it's just self self self with some people....

Is anyone watching Selby? Ref seems a bit harsh on hunter to me. Maybe a couple of low blows but seems a bit much

I think this is close

Selby gets it wide though

Ref was horrendous

The fight was not close at all BF, if you keep getting warned for low blows but carry on then you can have no complaints for a points deduction.

But it wasn't a low blow

It landed on the belt

Even if a fight is clear on the scorecards can still be close

Scorecards don't reflect the fight

The fight itself wasn't close, Selby was outlanding him by a big margin. Landing on the belt line doesn't mean it's not low, the ref states before the fight what he considers low, if you ignore that you get penalised, he landed with multiple low blows.

How many rounds did you give Hunter?

Three at most to be honest, he had flashes in rounds but didn't sustain anything, aside from the knockdown; Selby had the better of things in round two too.

He got dropped hard

So it's 10 8