Anthony Oluwafemi Olaseni Joshua vs. Jake Joseph Paul - Judgement Day, Dec 19th - Discussion Thread.

Often, yes, but there will be exceptions... And this is definitely one of them.

I rarely, if ever, believe what fighters say about the fight - just like promoters - it's in their interest to drum up interest and sell it to as many eyes as possible.

In this case, he wasn't exactly going to say "I'm going to take it easy, let the punk tire himself out first and then work out how hard I need to hit him to end it" - that wouldn't sell, and besides, you don't necessarily tell your opponent your plans, even if you know exactly what you want to do (you'll have noticed Jake didn't say "I'm going to run for my life and if he gets too close I'll lick his kneecaps"?).

You might have to explain that one - it doesn't make sense to me...

If Jake had come to engage he'd have been much easier to hit.

But would it have ended much earlier? Depends what you believe.

Well there we agree...

That was always going to be the case regardless of the outcome - it's precisely why this sort of fight shouldn't happen.

Jake getting brutally knocked out in the first round wouldn't come without its own risks - desperately trying to make sure it's over in one would require a huge punch and a risk of doing permanent damage or even death.
Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, as the fans might say - and there's truth in that - but can you imagine the general public reaction if JP had left the ring as a vegetable or a corpse?

And you'll see my point - there was almost no good outcome here.

 

An opponent running is one not swinging at you. Much easier to set traps and feints if you're not eating punches.

AJ not finishing Paul quickly was more detrimental to his health imo, as he got hit flush when he was out in his feet and absorbed his full power on the jaw. I'd rather get knocked out.

And come on, Jake Pauls plan was always going to be on the backfoot. He was never going to just stand and trade against a seasoned heavyweight. AJ was incapable of cutting off the ring and it was painfully obvious.

But I'm glad we agree the fight was a stain on the sport. We will have to agree to disagree on the rest. Hope we never have to sit through that again...

 

Up to a point, yes - equally, chasing around after a younger and fitter man when you're overbuilt... Isn't the easiest.

Could've cut off the ring better, certainly - it's just not entirely clear whether he was happy to let Paul run more and tire himself out, or whether he was genuinely unable to do it... Assume what you prefer, but the former makes more sense to me than the latter.

Up to a point...

We'll still have to disagree about the power of that punch - I still think Joshua was holding back, but either way it's done damage.

There's being on the back foot and there's running like a weasel...

Part of the farce, admittedly, but signing up for the fight at all intending to run like a weasel to that extent is pointless - it leaves zero chance of winning.

Absolutely he wasn't going to just trade, but if he'd had the slightest intention of engaging or trying to win rounds it would've been much easier to pin him down... Or more obvious that he was deliberately being let off, whichever the case may be.

It was always going to be a stain.

And it was always going to get looked into much more deeply than it warrants

Sadly I don't think it'll be the last.

 

In my opinion the best thing about this 'match' is that it's over. On the 27th there's the event with Inoue and Nakatani, real boxing, not Joshua vs Paul. Obviously this is my opinion, I have the great respect for those who think differently, we are not all the same and that's right.

 

I can’t wait for the 27th. That’s the real Christmas present.

 

A broken jaw in two places isn't hard enough for you?

 

He didn't have to. If he tried to cut off the ring and tried to aggressively chase him he'd be playing right into Jake's game, giving Jake opportunities to counter. AJ stayed patient, conserved his energy and won the battle of attrition.

 

That's madness
Any pro will tell you its a nightmare trying to stop a runner

 

Joshuas skills have always been overrated

It was embarrassing to see his inability to cut off the ring vs Jake Paul

He even got hit with a huge right hand

The reality is that the skill difference between the 2 wasn't as great as people (myself included) thought it would be

 

Agreed

if this was Wilder or Fury who performed like that this forum would be on fire

 

Looked to me like AJ was just messing around until midway through the 4th.

 

Jake was completely unfit which is why he gassed, he gassed vs Chavez jr too, it's why all his fights have a low punch out-put.

 

Wilder would have looked far worse vs Jake, he's completely shot and a low out-fighter which would have given Jake more time to run around that 22-24 foot ring.

 

Absolutely - Wilder's the zombie of a myth, at this point.

He might've got there eventually, but he'd have done even worse.

 

It takes crazy fitness to run for that long - and yes, he doesn't have it.

AJ wouldn't have the fitness to chase forever either... Kinda makes sense to let the guy tire himself out - whether that's what happened or not, nobody can really know.