Joshua v Klitschko: It's left me feeling flat
When the Joshua v Klitschko fight was announced I had to get a ticket, and get a ticket I did.
The 29th April is almost here now and I have to say the build up to the fight has left me feeling a little flat.
I have to say when an event of this magnitude was announced I expected a solid undercard, particularly because Joshua fights normally provide good undercards. This undercard has gained a lot of attention across Social Media channels, let’s be honest on paper it is pretty bare.
Maybe the thinking behind the under card IS that the main event is enough to get bums on seats, which clearly it has been. Maybe Joshua cards are normally stacked to make up for the fact he tends to blast people out in double quick time and on this occasion isn’t expected to keep up that record? Who knows, but you can only hope that those fighters on the card serve up something for those who watch from the get go, otherwise there could be a bit of a backlash coming.
As for the lack of fireworks in the build-up, I personally have found it interesting to see two professionals going about their business in a professional manner. In fact it’s been refreshing to see. To get the opportunity to try and work out what is going on behind a fighter’s eyes when they come face to face with the guy that is scheduled to punch them in the face is more stimulating than two blokes throwing tables at each other in order to drive sales of PPV subscriptions.
Personally I find Joshua’s approach refreshing, particularly in this day and age where genuine role models are few and far between. To see a young man taking the time to reflect on his career and its trajectory and trying to understand the detail of what is require d to achieve his goals should be celebrated. But for some reason, people don’t seem to be all that keen on it and would rather accuse him of being well managed and contrived and then celebrate some buffoon that turns up to press conferences dressed as batman and struggles to toe the line of what is acceptable in society.
For me sport is an entertainment, but I find the actual sporting pursuit, the drive to be successful, the peaks and the troughs of an athlete’s career entertaining. I’d much rather that than a bunch of clowns running around slagging each other off, faux-hating one another and wearing silly costumes- that’s WWE shit, not genuine sportsmanship.
In my opinion an entertaining boxing match is where both fighters truly leave it all in the ring. Mayweather v Pacquiao springs to mind as the alternative to that- a hugely hyped fight that failed to deliver.
The early hype surrounding Joshua v Klitschko seems to have died down, which is probably a reflection of the seriousness that each camp is now taking this fight, and it has left us feeling flat but as I am writing this article I can’t help but wonder if it is simply the calm before the storm.
Joshua, the young big punching knock out specialist gunning for supremacy against Klitschko, the wily old campaigner who has the skillset to beat anyone but truly MUST beat Joshua in order to maintain his legacy. That combination has to dish up some fireworks surely?
When I take to my seat in Wembley Stadium, I’ll certainly be hoping so; otherwise it could be a momentous damp squib.
