DAVID HAYE reckons Anthony Joshua will KNOCK OUT Tyson Fury in their eagerly-anticipated undisputed heavyweight title fight.
The pair are finally set to share the ring in Saudi Arabia on August 14, although an official announcement has yet to be made.
WBC king Fury goes into the contest as the bookies’ favourite, despite being on the sidelines longer than AJ.
But former WBA heavyweight king Haye reckons Joshua is being overlooked for a myriad of reasons, which he broke down during a recent interview with PA.
Tactics
Haye believes Joshua has shown drastic improvements to his offense in his last two outings against Andy Ruiz Jr and Kubrat Pulev.
He told PA: “What Fury did against Deontay Wilder in his last fight sounded like suicide on paper, but it was genius.
“Tactically I believed he had got it totally wrong, but it was proven right.
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“But if you look at some of his prior fights, I wouldn’t say his tactics were that good.
“Joshua got his tactics terribly wrong in his first fight against Andy Ruiz, trying to mix it against a guy with short arms whose only chance was to get inside.
” But his tactics are improving and I very much liked what he did against Kubrat Pulev in his last fight.”
Style
Haye is of the belief that Joshua, 31, won’t be bullied the same way Wilder was by The Gypsy King.
“I think some people very much underestimate the boxing ability of Anthony Joshua.
“They forget he’s an Olympic gold medallist – Tyson didn’t even go to an Olympics, because he lost to David Price (in 2006).
“AJ started later but I can see his progression.
“I laugh at how people can doubt someone as genetically gifted as AJ.
“They see what happened to Wilder and they think the same thing will happen to Joshua, but they are two completely different fighters and human beings.”
Power
Despite being impressed by Fury’s stoppage of Wilder last February, Haye firmly believes Joshua is the bigger power puncher.
He said: “Joshua waded in in his first fight against Andy Ruiz Jr and learned a hard lesson.
“You’ve got to soften your man up and pick your punches – just because you have the ability to knock someone out doesn’t give you the divine right to do so.
“Tyson isn’t so much of a one-punch specialist. He puts his punches together and his style is that if you throw big looping shots at him he’ll make you look silly.
“But AJ throws hard, compact punches and he puts them together well. I don’t see this fight going smoothly for Fury at all.”
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How it goes down
The Hayemaker foresees Joshua’s power and athleticism being too much for Fury to handle and is seemingly leaning towards an early stoppage.
Haye said: “I like the dedication of Joshua and I think he has a good chance of winning it early.
“People think I’m crazy but that’s just the way I see it.
“I loved his fight against Wladimir Klitschko – he took his licks and got back up and showed the heart of a champion.
“I think it’s a great fight and I really see it being won by stoppage. I’m just so glad we’re so close to seeing it happen.”
