McCracken says there`s no drawing board for the rematch with Usyk

Lol, sorry, but you guys are funny if you think AJ a two time unified champion, Olympic gold medalist, can’t do anything to improve on his performance.

He and his team definitely went in there thinking he could outbox Usyk. He trimmed down exactly for that purpose. On paper it made a lot of sense becuase Uysk looked a lot slower and vulnerable at heavyweight. AJ is the taller man with longer reach. The problem is AJ isn’t as quick or agile as Usyk to pull it off. Usyk looked a lot quicker for this fight than his last two boughts at heavyweight. They definitely took Usyk serious and didn’t have AJ fight him in his regular plodding style or he would have gotten countered like crazy and probably knocked out.

From a negotiations standpoint it was obvious AJ was gunning for the Fury and Wilder payday fights before considering a dangerous and less lucrative Usyk match.

Now for the record I don’t think AJ is going to win the rematch, but there are definitely multiple things he can do different. He going to have to go
in there and fight a mix like Lennox Lewis and Klitschko, hug, lean, smother and throw body punches to tire and slow down Usuk. It’s not going to be easy and it’s going to look ugly, but he definitely has the attributes to do it. We also don’t know if Usyk at age 35 will keep up his speed for much longer.

I’m also not convinced that he is a timid fighter. He went into the trenches with Klitschko and the first time with Ruiz. Each time he got back up and kept fighting. The ref called off the fight in the first Ruiz fight and AJ was standing calmly collecting himself and ready to go back in. He jumped into the rematch right away. The second fight was just a smart tactical change up on part of his team.

I view AJ much how I view Klitschko. Both were chinny and I counted them out after various losses and they came back stronger. I didn’t think AJ should rematch Ruiz right away and thought he was going to
get KO’d again. The style change up showed me he had more versatility than I thought. I don’t equate that to him winning, but I think his team will come up with a better game plan and have much more success.

Now with regards to Usyk. I don’t think he needs to change up much. If AJ does smother him he should look to counter AJ coming in. I actually thought he could have ans should have KO’d AJ. After watching the 12 I felt Usyk was too careful and could have opened up sooner. I actually think he should, starting around the 8th or 10th. Would just be cap in his hat stopping AJ.

 

Everyone can come in with a plan to do XYZ.

AJ could have come in with a plan to jump all over Usyk, lean all over him and knock him out early.

But there are two boxers in the ring. Usyk caught AJ with a huge straight left in that first round that stung him. He wasn’t game to come forward aggressively at that point.

There is no drawing board. AJ has a set of tools, some of them will work and some won’t. He needs to try them out in the ring.

His trainer isn’t there with him fighting.

Usyk is the better fighter and has AJs number. A hard counter left and left hook in that first round and AJs plans all go out the window yet again.

 

They are better off getting an Etch-asketch!!

 

Well, that pretty much confirms my suspicions that McCracken has taken Joshua as far as he can.

 

Yup.

It's the heavyweight championship of the world, not the next round on team GB.

 

Yeah exactly, to be honest Joshua should of looked to get a new head trainer in a few years back. He still doesn't seem to be able to use his size that well and you kinda get the impression McCracken hasn't the know how to teach him.

 

AJ, get rid of this guy (your trainer). "Just jab, use the right hand and apply pressure", anyone of the street can come up with that, you pay for a trainer that can help you with a strategy. He failed Joshua at the end of the 10th when needed most. AJ was basically on his own, but he himself should've showed more urgency than that. Both failed.

The most concerning thing is that AJ showed all his discouragement at the end of the fight and was helpless on his stool, while Usyk was walking around. What if this was a street fight, please I'm exhausted, have mercy on me. You didn't get dropped, stand up like a man. Fighters in the past have been brutalized for 15 rounds and still stood up. Gotta check you heart as a champion and stamina is a huge stumbling block.

If I was training AJ, he wouldn't touch a single weight in training. I'd have him working 15 rounds, then throw in some small fast fighters at him when he's exhausted to learn how to deal with that. Nothing but muscle endurance, timing to use his reach and counter, have him chasing chickens lol, footwork. ****, even yoga and a lot of static holds when your big legs are burning. Now that he's seen Usyk, he knows what to expect, focus on the success from the rounds you won and build on that. This doesn't mean he beats Uysk but you gotta learn and try to execute something different. Usyk has even more levels and wasn't even forced to show any inside game, and I think that he's going to try to take AJ out in the next one with more turns and combinations. AJ might be better served to train for his plan, get some lefty like Ortiz in a tune up and wait it out for the winner of Usyk vs the Fury/Wilder winner. Not a guarantee he beats Ortiz either, and Fury would be a nightmare for him too. He's stuck between a rock & a hard place and will see what he's made of and if he's a true champ. Gotta start by getting a better trainer though.

 

At least Wilder has only lost to the best in the division. Joshua has lost both to Usyk and a morbidly obese blob in Rice Pudding Jr.

 

If that's the case then AJ should sack McCracken.

 

I see that as McCracken basically saying he didn’t apply himself properly in the jab right hand or pressure but that’s not the full picture. The full picture is, Joshua is mentally finished, nothing was going to work

 

NO.

Assumption that Wlad was chinny is cos just some lost fights via stoppage and if to be real: cos his passport, LOL.

The difference between Wlad and A.J is this: Eddie had get him 41 y.o ring rusty Wlad and all world had praised how good he was vs ( insert surname x , y or z uncle ).
While rich and lazy Wlad after get some power jabs from then 33 y.o Pulev, wake up mode and let his hands to work.
So yeah, there is difference.
Ofc for even more older Wlad version, even more rich version too btw, Fury was too mobile and Wlad looked boring as death. Too much even for germans.

Usyk will change and damn a lot and most likely prepare better, will spend more $ and time for pre fight camp for sure.

Well, he looked good vs Ruiz Jr in rematch.
He looked damn good vs Pulev before he had started to gas out after 3 rounds boxed vs predictable and slow 39 y.o Pulev version.

What kind of fight another trainer might teach him? Not to gas out and perform vs boxers like Takam better than not enough old Povetkin versions? ( A.J had enough OLD Povetkin in the ring ).
Yeah, A.J is elite level pro boxer with 0 doubts.
Still, it is there what it is in reality: A.J had in the ring 235.5 lbs 36 y 10 m old Takam, previously battered and stopped by then not enough old Povetkin version.
He had won via british stoppage vs Takam. Congratulations.

Similar with Povetkin? Povetkin was " legless " 39 years old 222 lber vs 245 lbs A.J.

Sorry, I really wish to compare their real levels when A.J will be 39 y.o and had boxed in the ring. Not earlier.

Usyk does not box like Loma or Povetkin and even this is damn hard to understand.

 

No one should be moaning bout McCracken, the only advice that would see him to the end of the fight was given to him, anything else, like “ pressure him” and Joshua would’ve gassed an took out. It was a balancing act for the corner

 

I think they had a clear game plan but it was just the wrong game plan and they had no contingencies if plan A wasn't working.

I think the plan was to keep the fight long use the jab like he has in recent fights and prevent the smaller man from getting close enough to land which isn't a terrible game plan when facing a shorter fighter. Problem is he was facing a southpaw and southpaws are tricky to jab against because the lead hand blocks the path of your jab and Usyk takes away an opponents jab better than anyone, so to have a game plan that relied on the jab so much was a critical error.

The fact that once mid fight it was clear the jab wasn't working and they were unable to pin Usyk down to land, their lack of contingencies became apparent and his corner did show a lack of quick thinking to be able to adapt their plan to what was happening. To Joshua credit he did make adjustments but the overall strategy was still wrong and while he was able to mitigate some of what was happening they were never able to come up with a plan that could actually win them the fight.