Joshua vs Breazeale: A Clash of Cultures and Calibres

An interesting clash of cultures, calibre and class occurs on the 25th June 2016 as Watford’s Anthony Joshua takes on an opponent many would consider easy pickings for a man of Joshua’s stature.

At 27 years old the current IBF champion has perfectly progressed through the professional ranks and has given future professional athletes a pattern to follow for a rapid rise to the top.

His opponent on the other hand has to travel far from home to be the ‘other guy’ in the Anthony Joshua show.

At 6 foot 7 inches American Dominic Breazeale believes the trip will be a fruitful one and genuinely believes he has what it takes to de-throne Joshua, in a climate where heavyweights gravitate toward the glamour and dollars of the NFL and NBA the American heavyweight scene does not produce many Olympic success stories for the big boys of late.

Breazeale follows this rule and although demonstrated champion amateur pedigree at a national level failed to progress through the preliminary rounds of the 2012 London Olympics where Joshua took the gold medal.

Just four years later the two meet in London to trade leather for the world title and an interesting match up this will make, although the bookmakers see Joshua as a clear victor inside the distance Breazeale may throw a few curve balls.

(Via Batman Boxing)

Interestingly Joshua enters the ring the smaller man, only by an inch but for a man who has physically towered, intimidated and overpowered each opponent this will introduce a different dynamic to the duel, Breazeale has a sharp orthodox jab which will need to be at its best to control the distance.

If Brezeale is serious about taking the belt back to California he needs to stop Joshua planting his feet and unleashing his giant slaying power.

Breazeale has the experience over 17 fights (17-0-0) to keep out of range, engage lateral movement and ‘ugly’ his way to a points win but will he have the mental toughness to carry this out for 36 minutes?

As we know it takes extreme mental fortitude to be a champion in any fighting sport. The one potential weakness in the unbeaten American is his ability to focus and carry on regardless.

In his 17 wins there has been mental lapses, there have been times when the show didn’t hit the road, the Californian had the tools and the genetics to make it as a national league quarterback, he tried but turned to boxing when it was obvious the NFL wouldn’t be his athletic home.

Breazeale has the size and athleticism to shock Britain on Saturday but Joshua’s well documented expertise are difficult to look past especially against this relatively untested young professional, the old cliché says boxing is about levels and previous performances show that Joshua is a level or two above Breazeale.

This will be Joshua’s stiffest test to date and will provide a stepping stone to the elite match ups that have to be around the corner, as he looks to build his legacy in boxing.

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