Joshua's continous development is the key to his success.

AJ is really smart guy and so is his trainer. He will never have the workrate or stamina of prime Riddick Bowe or speed and footwork of Oleksandr Usyk. But I think eventually he will be the best he can be in all the components of boxing because he is willing to learn. And what we can ask more from a fighter?

 

You can see he is looking to continuously learn and improve his all round game and he seems to be soaking up experience like a sponge. Natural talent aside he is a perfect professional so far. He clearly has flaws and his hard work and dedication can only plug so many gaps in his game, other things will never be plugged because nobody is perfect but the things he can perfect and improve he is working hard at.

Both Sasha and Wlad managed to get through to Joshua easier than id hoped he would let them but i think it was just clear that they were both just technically better fighters than Joshua but they didnt find it easy, they had to work for their successes and had to take punishment to get anything done. He is unlikely to face many more fighters as technically sound as those 2. Uysk and maybe Tyson Fury but i see nobody else out there with that level of skill.

As a big fan of his i see his level, hes beatable, hes stoppable and he has flaws to his game, some he can iron out, some he will have to carry with him. He needs to really improve how he moves backwards before he does anything else and i dont like the way he seems to srtretch with his jabs which brings his head forward and up, he was doing that against Sasha even with a 7 or 8 inch reach advantage.

But i see more flaws in all of the other top heavyweights than i see in him.

 

Joshua executed a brilliant game plan against Povetkin. I thought he would do the jab and hold strategy, like Wlad did against Povetkin. The jab to the body is dangerous against a smaller opponent it opens up the overhand right counter but it worked perfectly. Sure he lost a few rounds but he knew he would land right hands because Povetkin was used to the jab to the body. It was risky and fair play he could have fought the same fight as Wlad.

He fights with a different strategy in every fight and he comes through adversity and stays calm. Had a broken nose twice, been rocked and got off the canvas to win. All traits associated with great boxers.

He was throwing shots against Povetkin without moving his feet, he wasn't stepping into his punches, especially in the first few rounds but when he loosened up he was fine. He's got flaws and can see someone stopping him at some point but for me he's clearly the best atm including the myth that is a fully fit Fury.

 

it seems more like 2 steps forward, 1 step back to me. People think his performance against Parker was "too cautious", well i was impressed by it. He controlled the fight using his fundamentals, didn't go out looking to just try and smash someone, did everything well and took the title off a champion, doing the things i'd been looking for him to focus more on.

but i wasn't overly impressed with him on Saturday. the finish was brilliant and highlighted just how dangerous he is, but he looked vulnerable a lot on Saturday, and his footwork really needs to be improved. I think he's trying too hard to find a balance between the Wlad style, and a brutaliser style, and that could be his downfall

 

AJ is amazing. Always working hard despite being set for lifeeeeeeeeeeee!

Getting better each fight, stronger chin, fast combinations, good versatility, great courage and resolve.

He took some shots for POV and still kept it together. And those POV shots where the hardest ever... "very desperate I want to be a champion" kind of hard

Plus he's a fantastic sportsman in and out of the ring, he's great for the sport. Nothing but respect and admiration for that man, he works so hard to not just be a champion but STAY a champion.

Something that Fury was too much of a ***** and weakling to achieve. Lineal champ my arse. Suck your mom

 

I think Joshua has yet to reach his peak.

He's never going to be a brilliant boxer but with his physical attributes maybe merely being a "good" boxer is good enough to stay at the top for a long time. I really like Povetkin and even this diminishd older version is bad news in the ring. Beating him by KO proved a fair bit in my opinion.

 

I think it’s quite possible that we have seen his peak, ok he might make slight Improvements in ring iq but to be that muscle bound and heading into his 30’s might spell disaster when it comes to injurys and he’s not very athletic.

We shall see though I guess.

 

For me his biggest weakness is his total lack of head movement. Eventually someone is going to move it for him and by then it's going to be far too late. If and it's a massive if Fury can recreate the level of elusiveness we've seen from him before then Joshua is going to look a very ponderous target.

 

Are you forgetting AJ’s Superior race posts and support for Robert Mugabe

 

That last paragraph was a useless inclusion. Canelo went in there with the most technically sound boxer he could have fought. Did it against Lara too, to an extent, and pretty much did it again with Golovkin.

Joshua has never boxed a technician anywhere near the level of these guys. Not because he’s ducked them, but because he hasn’t had the chance yet. Just wait until he is put in there with either Fury, Hughie or Tyson, and mark my words he’ll be made to look ridiculous.

It won’t happen though. Hearn has already tried to rule out a Tyson fight and mark my words, when Hughie sparks Pulev to become IBF mandatory, Joshua will drop that belt. Anthony doesn’t want anything to do with Hughie and Rob McCracken doesn’t want anything to do with Big Peter. Good lord they would get a boxing schooling from these Gypsy boxing scientists.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. Joshua has improved everything over the past five years bar his footwork. It's slower than his hands and movement doesn't come naturally to him. He nullified Povetkin's leaping hooks by reading and blocking them, not by getting out of the way.

He will need to get out of the way of Wilder's right hand - blocking it will not do against that kind of power - because if Wilder can land his right only half as often as Povetkin landed his, AJ will be in trouble...

 

After seeing Joshua several times, my conclusion if he gets by more with athleticism, reach, and power, than solid technique and at his age, he isn't likely to improve much on technique. He's just not a classic jab, cross type. He has a good arsenal, but he's not setting it up with his jab, which means he's not really good at controlling the pacing or distance. He just wings it, with good results.

Joshua needs to keep his weight in check ( below 250 pounds, ideally 245 ). I think his gas tank is a little shallow for the later rounds, and his chin is just okay. He's a little stiff and lacks head movement. I expect no improvement in any of these areas, rather a decline in them as he ages.

AJ has always had trouble with fast handed fighters dating back to his amateur days, but as a professional, he really didn't fight anyone quick who was committing to punches, outside of a 39-year-old Povektin, or a 41-year-old Wlad and look what happened? He won primarily because of his opponents' age. If they were in their prime, the match would likely go the other way around.

On the plus side, his power and size are excellent. No one can dispute that.

So how good is he really? Not in Lewis or Klitschko's class ( either of them ) for sure. I think a focused Bowe was better, but not by much. I'd place Joshua above Rahman, McCall, Ibragimov, Moorer, Chagaev, Peter, Ruiz, Valuev, et al.

So he's really a solid champion in a time with very few top talents in their prime. Beating the winner of Wilder vs. Fury will mean everything for his legacy and to be truthful both of their top wins are vs 38-39-year-old men.

 

Agree with the first paragraph completely. Joshua relies largely on his athletic attributes to bail him out. The same can be said of Wilder - he loses rounds, throws with zero technique but his power bails him out.

The difference is that Wilder is mocked for this by the buffoon virgins on this forum, yet Joshua isn’t.

 

Hi Troll account, please reference a few of those posts with timestamps and source.

Lazy guy!!!