James wants 2 more fights before he believes AJ is ready to face the elite again. Do you rate Derrick as a trainer ? Or should AJ move on?
Joshua should've stuck with Garcia. He was better then and a fight with him and wilder would've been entertaining Now he just gets blasted out in 2.
Derrick James is the best boxing trainer in the world. Yesterday you saw AJ show good fundamentals. His jab is the best I have ever seen it and he was defensively responsible. Did the 12 rounds comfortably.
Joshua is what he is. He should just stick with James so he doesn't have to start over constantly. But it's only going to matter so much.
Hes done at the top level. Fury and Wilder knock him out, Usyk has already beat him twice and would do it again and Joyce would beat the crap out of him. Hes cooked,done,finito its curtains for him.
Joshua and James definitely need more time to blend together for AJ to completely utilize James' teachings. For example when Jermell made the switch from Shields to James, it took him some time as well before everything came together. The real problem is whether Hearn and the public will be interested in Joshua having learning fights for the reminder of the year. In the post fight interview even Joshua said they ain't getting any younger, so might as well make the big fights. And unlike most here who are quite reactionary, Joshua could beat the elite level guys (Besides Usyk...cause you know he is Usyk). Against Joyce. He knocked Joe out in the amateurs, and sure as **** he can do it again. Fury and Wilder if they have the cojones, could try to make the fight happen. For all of Joshua's flaws, he has always tried to make the big fights happen.
He’s a good trainer. One fight with AJ is not a total reflection, a man coming off two losses and seemingly still acting a bit like one flew over the cuckoos nest. AJ needs to start listening, take some time to adjust and get back to using his assets - something McCracken did for him.
In fairness thats the least tired I think I've seen Joshua in a fight going 12 rounds whether that's down to James or something else I don't know but I think James might be the one to bring the spark back you could see he was being straight and serious with AJ in the corner no bullshitting around
AJ looked way better under Robert Garcia and McCraken's tutelage than he did under James'. Now granted obviously his extremely tentative performance had a lot to do with Usyk harvesting his soul in his previous two fights and destroying his self-confidence but many were claiming beforehand that James was exactly what AJ needed and the perfect fit for him. But let's be honest, James failed the first stage of the test. AJ looked immeasurably better under the other American Garcia's wing against an immeasurably better opponent than he did under James' one against Franklin. AJ coming in at 255 against a smaller, lighter and faster opponent wasn't wise either after the much smaller Usyk laid the blueprint on how to take him to slick school albeit to be fair they weren't to know Frankin had actually really dedicated himself to serious training for this fight, completely changed his diet, and came in much lighter (234lbs) than he did against Whyte which was a fat 257lbs
I saw some good things and some bad things. Good - lateral footwork, hands up, good jab, even some head movement, inside punching Bad - punch output very low, bending in and giving up his height like a small fighter, hesitant to throw any combos even against a fighter not known for power, grappling too much It does not look good going forward but I'll give him & his trainer the benefit of the doubt since it's the first fight. AJ is now getting stuck between different trainers & philosophies. I don't see him beating anyone of the top fighters in the division with that tentative style, and he may be turning fight fans off with the jab & grab. They gotta fine tune it or he's in trouble. He should've kept it simple, getting in shape without bulk and ability to throw more combos while staying out of range. He's trying to completely redesign his style after Usyk, but that's not needed as his other biggest threats are tall fighters that fight nothing like Usyk. AJ is trying to be the most technical fighter out there at the expense of free flowing offense.
Joshua needs more time with James and more time in Texas to absorb that atmosphere. Leave the UK entirely and base yourself out there for the next few years.