Was Anthony Joshua past his prime when he fought Daniel Dubois

Dubois avoided VADA testing.

He didn’t look like the same fighter who was KOed by Joe Joyce and knocked down three times by Lerena.
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AJ was clearly past his prime right AFTER he fought Daniel...

 

AJ was never the same after the Ruiz fight. He was not mentally strong enough to overcome that. Plus, a glass jaw doesn't help. No, he was not past his prime.

 

The Joyce fight was over 4 years ago in late 2020...Less than a month after old man Dubois celebrated his birthday at the grand old age of 23.

He's only 27 now.

Of course he's not the same fighter - he's much closer to entering his prime now than he was then, and he's been through experiences he's clearly learned from... And he's likely still learning and improving even now.

Plenty of fighters get accused of roiding, especially the heaviest - Joshua has been accused plenty on here, just as Dubois has, for example... But neither having been caught means we can't quite be sure - unlike fighters who have been caught and we know have used PEDs, but it conveniently doesn't get mentioned in some cases.

 

Anthony Joshua's team are FURIOUS with Daniel Dubois 'over his failure to sign up for VADA drug testing' ahead of September showdown

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/b...el-Dubois-failure-sign-VADA-drug-testing.html

Anthony Joshua’s team BLAST Daniel Dubois over failure to sign up for additional drug testing ahead of September clash

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/29286592/anthony-joshua-daniel-dubois-vada-drug-testing-boxing-news/

The Joshua fight was just ONE year after Dubois at age 25 got knocked out with a jab against Usyk, and a few months before that he was knocked down three times in round one by Lerena.

No one goes from being a mediocre boxer to a top contender so quickly. He seemed to have a glass jaw against Usyk and light-punching Lerena, yet easily took Hrgovic's and Joshua's best punches a year later. Steroids do improve strength and durability.

 

Let’s not be making excuses for Joshua now. He’s 34, he’s not ancient. Dubois beat a good AJ fair and square.

 

Yes he’s past it. Saw it in the first minute of the fight. Legs and reflexes have diminished and his punch resistance is gone.

 

'Prime' is often an intangible when it comes to applying it to a particular boxer.

Look no further than what prime actually means for confirmation of that.

Prime = of the best possible quality.

 

I think AJ was past his peak for a couple of years and on the downside of his prime. That being said, when he knocked out Ngannou it was one of my happier moments in 61 years as a sports fan.

 

Yeah. If you want to say Lewis was past it at mid 30's then so is AJ.

I've never been a mega-fan of AJ, more just respekful of his acheevements, but we can't say Dubious beat the best version.

Prime AJ probably beats Dubious, but Dubious could still get him. They're quite similar, quitters with good power.

A lot of people think age is just a number, Wlad included. Wlad learned the night he fought AJ that age definitely isn't just a number. Wlad was still dangerous but his timing was off, he was missing big. AJ had the yoof edge and won. Nobody on earth thinks AJ is better than Wlad (except AJ).

AJ is coming into an interesting part of his career now. He was used to being the young fighter taking on old people, always having the speed advantage and more. Now he's going to lose that. Hopefully he keeps going though because he has the fire back.

 

Can't put muscles on a chin. Dubois chin is fine, always was. If being on the kit gave you a chin, fighters like Tommy Morrison would have a Mount Rushmore grade chin.

 

Dubois chinned AJ. would AJ have got up to win in his supposed prime i think not.

I for one am not willing to diminish the Dubois win, by saying AJ was not the AJ of old.

To paraphrase Julius Caesars quote.
AJ "Came. Saw and Lost"

 

So your saying he was prime? Or yet to hit his prime?

 

AJ never had a prime . He was always a garbage fighter. Wladimir Klitschko, at age 41, had AJ out on his feet, but for some reason he held back, refused to knock him out--which would have taken just one solid punch--and let him back into the fight. AJ has made a career of often fighting just once a year, fighting shot boxers who are 39-41 years old and fighting absolute nobodies, like "Jermaine Franklin". He is a fraud and he always bas been, a body builder who can do a mediocre impersonation of a boxer.

 

Every fighter regardless of level has a prime period