The evolution of Anthony Joshua

This loss is good for him and his team long term. It will shake things up.

I think he's gained too much muscle since his debut, all that mass needs oxygen. AJ needs to find the right balance and be something in between pre-Steward Wlad and post-Steward. Last night he simply looked like a black David Price: no fluidity, no stamina, a bit lazy. He looked much better and sharper against Povetkin.

 

Anyone know who his sparring partners are? Obvious now that he was knocked out in sparring and didn't have enough time to recover, evidence being the Navy Seal bought into camp late to train him about concussion recovery, his obvious fragility in the ring and a complete refusal to answer any questions about how the camp went. Perhaps it was Bakole!

 

I disagree with the OP. AJ was a walking KO waiting to happen when he fought gung ho. A younger Wlad would've done it. Whenever AJ opened up with combinations he gassed. The stamina has been questionable from the start.

His best all round performance was against Joseph Parker where he used his reach advantage, boxing on the outside and barely took a punch throughout. The problem was it was labelled a boring fight afterwards and AJ is marketed as an exciting KO artist.

AJ's stamina is a major issue and he's getting clipped by little guys. He needs to box conservatively on the outside, reserve his energy and use his reach advantage. Guys the size of Ruiz shouldn't be landing anything. If he used the Parker game plan last night he would've at least won on the cards.

Again, the problem is he'll possibly lose some of the casual appeal boxing conservatively so he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He hasn't the stamina or chin to box hung ho though. Imagine him trying that with Wilder.

 

Agree he needs to cut quite a bit of muscle. Carrying a ridiculous amount. I reckon he'd be a lot faster and a lot fitter without it.

 

He's always been about the same.

Let's be real here for a moment, WHO did he fight BEFORE he fought Klitschko who was on the same level as the men he's faced since ??
Takam, Parker and Ruiz might have been regarded as "puddings" by many here but there were better than the likes of Breazeale, Molina and Martin !
That's why Joshua's seemed more cautious. He's stepped up and faced guys with some boxing IQ.

Joshua is "gung ho" as ever. He was absolute devastating at the end of the previous fight with Povetkin. But he has trouble with anyone who attacks him with him any use of angles whatsoever.

 

Any time I watch him training with McCraken, you notice Rob constantly urging him to work. Has anyone else noticed this? He always struck me as sort of lazy in camp.

Last night I saw it in the first 3 rounds, he was fighting at far too slow a pace. Working the jab on the back foot was the right tactics, but he threw a jab and went walking about. He could have really marked Ruiz up if he was on that jab more, really putting the snap into it. I honestly did think, he's being incredibly lazy here.

Then he scored the knock down, beautiful shot, and he went for it, which was a stupid stupid move. The Wilder win got to him, he wanted to impress and thought that was his moment. If he took his time, stuck to the one two he may well have completed the job.

But another thing, he wasn't his heaviest ever last night but he was still gigantic. Don't forget he was scheduled to fight Miller. They maybe focused on bulk and strength during that camp and sacrificed speed and stamina as a result.

I think he can beat Ruiz in the rematch, but it's time to shun the limelight and lose some mass.

 

I’ve just watched the fight again and I’m leaning towards the theory AJ was carrying an existing concussion. Last night, I found it strange that he was late leaving the dressing room, his relentless chewing of his mouthpiece was uncharacteristic and he looked practically sedated leaning on the ropes during the fight introductions. He also ignored Rob McCracken’s instructions to shadow box and warm up. He looked flat like a huge adrenaline dump could have left him drained, perhaps there was an attack of anxiety in the dressing room? I’ve ways feared for his chin but last night his balance and lack of resistance was consistent with that of an existing concussion.

 

He got away with it against (a washed up) Klitchko by the skin of his teeth. Far from an ATG performance.

 

How old were Wlad, Povetkin and Takam? Prime age? What would of happened in the Parker fight had the referee not stopped Parker getting on the inside and boxing to his strengths? What happened last night when in with someone game at their prime age?

 

Where on earth has this concussion nonsense come from? Hearn went out of his way to state there were no problems pre fight whatsoever. The facts are AJ ain't that good. I dread to think what Wilder would do to him and Fury would embarrass him out of the sport.

 

It's garbage, like saying the goalkeeper only let the ball into the net because he couldn't reach it. Joshua was exposed, clear as day. An absolute beating he took.

 

I'm pretty sure earlier on in the week. I seen an interview with AJ and he had swelling around his eyes through sparring but wouldn't say who it was.

 

He definitely had puffy eyes. I’m wondering if there was some truth in what Dave Allen said in his interview about Joshua looking like a man who had been bingo’d in sparring. Ruiz is a very hurtful puncher but he’s not known for having ‘one big punch’ in him. Joshua looked fragile with every shot he took.

I’m not making excuses for him. I’m delighted for Ruiz.

 

https://metro.co.uk/2019/05/28/anth...iner-ahead-andy-ruiz-jr-showdown-9700282/amp/