I wish it was the 90's again,and watching proper fights and fighters like Lennox,Mike Tyson, Holyfield,Rahman,it makes me appreciate those days more,never will see that again
AJ did OK. He broke his nose in the 2nd and had troubles breathing. The stoppage was bad, but AJ would have won on points anyway.
6/10 It was a disappointing performance for me, he is too bulky and too obsessed with power. Takam has a hell of a chin and deserved the chance to fight on.
7 out of 10. Takem was a tough guy and Wlad aside the best test he's had. And passed it without losing a round or looking in trouble at any point even with the nose injury
Why are people saying AJ showed stamina issues in this fight, he broke his nose in the 2nd and never looked gassed for the whole 10 rounds this fight went. I think it showed AJ has improved and learned from the Whyte and Wlad fights and paced his self a lot better than previous, he is still improving that is obvious to see.
7 out of 10 AJ has the first ‘off night’ of his 20 fight career but still wins 9 rounds, drops and badly cuts a top ranked opponent despite a last minute change of fighter and style. I think the guy deserves a break for last night as he looked mentally and physically flat. Saying that, for me he must lose 15-20lbs to recapture some sharpness and mobility.
How was it an "off night" ? That's as good as he's ever looked in a proper fight with a proven "world level" opponent. The only other time he's been in with a proven opponent was against Wlad, and he looked about the same. Dillian Whyte might be the third-best he's faced but people said that was a "reckless" and "uncharacteristic" performance too. Against good opposition he's going to have some trouble. That's not surprising. Against opponents who are a level or two below world class he might look like an immortal. It's not surprising.
I thought AJ left himself open plenty, as usual. Takam's reach defecit meant it wasn't capitalized on so much, but even so Takam caught him a couple of times with short overhand rights at close range. AJ left his left side open a lot. His unlikely ever to be a defensively competent boxer with his attitude. He likes to trade, likes to get macho in there. He's such a physical beast with a nice offensive arsenal, so far he's getting away with it.
6/10 for me. Didn’t let his hands go enough. Especially the jab. I think the nose troubled him and he was overweight too. I’d like to see if him come in at least half a stone lighter next time. Takam was going anyway by the way. I don’t think he was seeing that round out. Very tough performance from him and won a lot of fans.
I'd give AJ 10/10 by his standards. That's no worse than I've ever seen him. He's not improved much though. By heavyweight championship standards, it's probably a 4 . His skill level is poor, his stamina mediocre, his movement poor. He gets 4 out of strength, power and determination.
6/10 Solid decent performance against a solid decent opponent. Good experience for him. A fight where do to styles and attributes it was not too difficult to win but difficult to look good against. Not too difficult to win because of size advantage and Takam's inability to hurt him. Difficult to look good in because of Takam's speed, movement, toughness and the tactics he employed. Things for Joshua to work on are speed, movement, timing, stamina and his jab. Next up? I'd like to see him fight Parker, Miller and Wilder in that order but I have no idea how possible that is.
He did not break his nose. Joshua confirmed in the post fight presser that the doctor examined the nose and said it was only hurt, not broken.
Stylistically Takam was wrong for AJ but despite trying to be positive about the performance it did underline AJ's lack of experience! He has come up fast 20 fights and a World Champion with 3 defences amazing statistics but how do you get the experience which only rounds bring ? From last nights performance I would pick Wilder to win . His team must know that they need to get more ring time in 2018 but at same time ensure the punters are satisfied, a match to satisfy the WBA mandatory, a senior unification against Parker etc. And we are into 2019 ...
5/10 for me. I’m a big AJ fan but he looked ponderous last night. He needs to lose a stone and start thinking about developing a jab. He’s just one- two all the time and uses a lot of arm punches. I still think he’s the best of a bad bunch but I worry for him against Wilder as he gets hit far too easily. Not sure of his camp/trainers thinking but I’m surprised he is seemingly just relying on bulk and brute force.