And props to him, he knows this i would say a) needs to address muscle bulk issue, especially in the arms, you don't need big muscles to hit hard (e.g. skinny Kelly Pavlik) b) Head movement, doesn't need to be a dancing bunny, but needs to add it in when necessary. c) Vary ranges - needs to work on varying his range of attack a bit better d) Change the look - could do with varying his offensive stance, not as drastic as switching back and forth from southpaw, but needs to give his opponent more varied looks e) Cutting the ring - If he is ever going to be competitive against Tyson Fury, he needs to be able to aggressively cut down the ring, he needs more agility in his calf muscles to be able to spring around the ring when required Overall though, he is looking very good
He is very powerful, very strong but I thought he looked robotic at times, he needs to take off some of that mass in my opinion. There is so much to like but there are some glaring holes in his game and fighters at world level might well be able to take advantage of them. It was a very good finish but AJ was over reaching at times, leaning in, chin in the air, virtually no head movement and was seriously hurt by Whyte left hand, you would regard that as Whyte's stronger hand either. I wouldn't let AJ anywhere near Haye in the next 12 months if Haye is anything like he once was, fast, athletic and still as powerful.
I think yesterday was a big eye opener for a lot of people. I really wasn't impressed with Joshua. He came out strong in the first round, zoned in looking ready to the do the job. In round 2 was staggered badly, did a little dance, but actually tucked up well to his credit - but at the same time Whyte couldn't finish him off, he was missing a lot of shots when he had AJ hurt and a better fighter would have landed far more. By round 3,4,5,& 6 both guys were extremely tired, Whyte was barely throwing and Joshua was putting little power into his shots. It was a nice punch to the temple which staggered Whyte, and the uppercut which put him down was icing on the cake. But it's clear to me that Joshua has a a lot to work on and will get found out against a Fury, Klitschko, Povetkin, Jennings etc..
He could lose some weight in his biceps as I believe they don't massively contribute to striking power. The rest of him is fine and he's still more of a natural mover than Bruno was. I don't think stamina is really an issue as he recovered enough to show mid rounds power in stopping Whyte. He does need to improve his head movement and throw the jab much more. He has the athleticism and power that with, blessed with a good solid, stiff, ramrod jab, would make him a really difficult opponent for anyone to defeat.
I'm not sure Whyte is a barometer as to whether someone is world class. I gotta say though the skill level seems like it's lower compared to the last other eras. There was at least some top level talent but apart from Wlad and maybe Fury it doesn't seem good.
Agree with this. People talk about "world level" It's a very weak division It's all imaginary about how food the top guys are He's not going to have to face anyone close to Lennox Lewis level or Tyson (when he was good) level or even Oliver Mccall level like Bruno had to face And Joshua IMO is better than Bruno
I'd have liked him to hold more when he got buzzed. Could do with working on the head movement. Would also have liked to see him assert his jab a bit more
The truth is joshua has too many holes in his game. Much the same as price. Better and will go further than price but the same thing will happen. He really is just a powerful man. The olympians need to look at their system because they keep bringing the same type through. Joshua tired badly in there. His chins not great. He looked like he was ready to sack it at one point in the second with the body shot. His guard came down as the fight went on. Looked stiff. No jab. Not much thinking done hes just throwing punches relying on his power. No head movement. These things wont improve much as the years go by. Dont get me wrong hes dangerous to anyone but most of the top guys should have too much for him. Hopefully i m wrong tho
I thought Joshua performed well and Whyte has a big heart but not a great boxer. I think Joshua needs a new trainer. Since turning pro Joshua has benefited from strength and conditioning but he's still not improved as much as he should have in his boxing.
a) I don't think his muscle mass is an issue. Looks like he has a nice amount of muscle for his height. b) Head movement seems okay in general. Poor in the early rounds, better in the latter rounds (especially round 4 I think it was). Could always be better though c) Agreed. d) Agreed. e) Haven't noticed a problem with him cutting off the ring. Does a pretty decent job of it in most of his fights IIRC. Could always be better though. I would say he mainly needs to concentrate on defence a bit more (especially defending against body shots and after he throws his own shots), keep working on his conditioning and gain experience.
i think really just needs to be given time to grow he aint ready. tony tompson is a step too far even with recent form. throwing bombs like he dose is all well and good but when there still smiling back at you all you done is emptyed his tank if whytes engine was abit better very well could of been a diffrent result overall im not impressed. best thing he can do is not fight haye imo. looked vunerable to me
