The finishing touches are being put on the respective fight camps of both Anthony Joshua and Wladimir Klitschko.
There’s less than a fortnight to go until the monster heavyweight showdown in Wembley and that means time is running out for both men to do their utmost to pique the interest of fight fans and persuade them to buy their pay-per-view.
Recently we saw Klitschko attempt to get the trash talk started with a bizarre and out-of-character series of tweets about his upcoming opponent.
Where the hell did this come from? Klitschko gives it both barrels https://t.co/T2GtuI4U9s
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) April 10, 2017
It seemed fake and forced and fans let him know all about it but surely we’d be treated to some genuine disdain when Joshua and Klitschko came face-to-face in Sky Sports’ studios.
We’re all accustomed to the tension that makes their flagship boxing programme, The Gloves Are Off, so very compelling.
When Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora were separated by nothing but a table and host Johnny Nelson, all hell broke loose.
https://twitter.com/BoxingBritain1/status/794641171557576705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.joe.co.uk%2Fsport%2Fwatch-dillian-whyte-and-dereck-chisora-pulled-apart-after-glass-is-thrown-in-sky-sports-studio-96121
David Haye’s pre-fight meeting with Tony Bellew made for fantastic television and certainly boosted the pay-per-view success of that particular grudge match.
But when Joshua and Klitschko sat down in one another’s company last week, it was very… meh.
Mutual admiration was in abundance between ‘AJ’ and Klitschko and the discussion boiled down to an analytical breakdown of the bout
“We look alike, size-wise. Arm length is pretty much the same,” Klitschko said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT9IAXsuGUU
“Biceps? Maybe in this smaller T-shirt you look better. Punching power, we don’t need to talk about.
“There are a lot of equal things. Preparation, camp, altitude training, nutrition. We can name a lot of things. The more I look at it, it’s a copy. Different, but in a certain way it’s a copy.”
There was no real intensity, not an inkling of tension and while there’s nothing wrong with respect between opponents, fight fans were left frustrated by the friendliness on show.
https://twitter.com/BoxingWorldUk/status/853680992158142465
https://twitter.com/discodave581984/status/853680759265267715
Just watched a friendly catch up and way too much fist bumping #GlovesAreOff
— James Sweetnam (@JamesSweetnam99) April 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/nwa2275/status/853680046506221568
https://twitter.com/therealscottlaw/status/853678965977907200
https://twitter.com/Danny_Reynolds/status/853679665621463040
The format of The Gloves Are Off/HBO Face Off needs genuine needle to make it really compelling – see Froch-Groves II, Cotto-Margarito II.
— Tom Craze (@TomCraze) April 16, 2017
So boring AJ&Wlad analysing the fight like a Data #GlovesAreOff
— too blessed 🇬🇧🇳🇬 (@fdarams) April 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/Levy2mfc/status/853703130260885504
https://twitter.com/stebragas/status/853698622130720768
Joshua vs Klitschko, worst gloves are off in the history of boxing 😴😴😴
— Danny Taylor (@DannyTaylorDT) April 16, 2017
No disrespect to the fighters but that was a struggle 😴😴😴#GlovesAreOff
— Pamela Corry (@PamelaCorry) April 16, 2017
If 'The gloves are off' is anything to go by AJ/Klits fignt won't end in 12 rounds. It'll end in marriage. 👊😍😍🥊👊👊
— JJ (@JJ_JO_JO) April 16, 2017
#joshuaklitschko #glovesareoff wow that was boring!!! Yeah respect is good but jesus no need to hang out the back of each other
— Dean Stockell (@deany85) April 16, 2017
Looking for a cure for insomnia??? Watch AJ v Wlad #glovesareoff 😴
— James Dorney (@Dorns84) April 16, 2017
The single most boring #GlovesAreOff in its history … These two have about as much charisma as Audley Harrison in a World title fight 😴
— David Cluett (@Cluett1989) April 16, 2017
https://twitter.com/JazzyWoop/status/853683750474874880
#joshuaklitschko #glovesareoff so fucking boring, there's respect and then there's jus plain boring, what a load of shit
— BOMBER HARRIS (@whostheguvnor) April 16, 2017
