Tim Witherspoon calls Joshua v Martin
Tim Witherspoon reckons Anthony Joshua might still be too raw to dethrone his countryman Charles Martin and become a world champion tonight.
Witherspoon is the last American to bring a world heavyweight title to England and defend the belt successfully,
It's 30 years on July 19 since 'Terrible Tim' took out Frank Bruno at the end of the 11th round, with his opponent's corner throwing the towel in, in front of 40,000 fans at Wembley Stadium.
It was the first time he had put up the WBA crown, after previously losing the WBC strap in his first defence two years earlier.
Witherspoon and Bruno were reunited last night at the Grand Station in Wolverhampton last night, with Tony Tucker also appearing at Showfighter's 'A Night of Champions.'
This evening, Martin will put up the IBF honours Tucker once held against Joshua in just the Englishman's 16th pro contest. They meet at the 02 Arena in London, live on Sky Sports.
'AJ' is being touted as one of the finest heavyweight prospects this country has ever seen, but Martin represents an acid test of his credentials.
And Witherspoon believes his chance may have come too soon, as it did for Bruno when he was beaten badly back then.
The 58-year-old said: "I love Anthony, I know him and he's a really good guy, but he still looks a bit basic to me.
"Every time he gets into the ring, I want to see something new. I want to see him slipping, getting his guard up, blocking the jab with his hand and throwing a left hook behind it.
"There's a lot of artistic stuff that I haven't seen from him, so far, but he's gotten away so far with it up to this point.
"I only had 14 fights when I fought Larry Holmes for a world title, but I had a good trainer. They make boxing so much easier for you.
"You can be aggressive, stylish and a hard puncher, but someone in the corner who knows what they are doing is so important.
"It's like with Frank Bruno. I believe if he had my trainers and I had this, he would definitely have beaten me. 'Slim' Jim Robinson was one of the best.
"I actually think Bruno had better combinations and knows more than Joshua does right now. He's in great shape, like Frank was, but he's missing some skills.
"He's strong, but all someone has to do against him is to show a little bit more in the way of tricks. Charles Martin will have the same sort of mentality that I had.
"Both of them lack defence, but I think Charles has more professional attributes and there's a whole lot more to fighting a southpaw.
"I don't know if he's been taught how to fight a southpaw properly. Most people say keep your left foot on the outside of his lead foot and throw right hands.
"He'll need to be smarter than that and this is what Joshua could be missing. Charles has the slight edge on experience and that could tell."
[interruptor]
