Now I don't understand how AJ came back after Wlad knocked him down

Youth.

30 year old ronaldo vs 40 year old ronaldo.

 

His brain had less damage at that point.

 

Joshua became gun shy after the Klitschko win.
Maybe it was a confidence issue.

However, AJ certainly lost ALL confidence after losing to Ruiz

 

Because he was facing a middle-aged man who hadn’t won a fight in 2 years. And he had the most important thing a fighter needs, confidence.

 

Remember the back story to the Wlad v Joshua fight ? Wlad had sewn a usb drive into the hood of his robe which was to be auctioned off for the Klitschko Foundation. On this usb drive was Wlads pre fight prediction for how his 2017 fight would go with Joshua. This usb drive was auctioned off at a London Gala event for £160,000 the contents of this usb drive being a secret,being only accessible to the mystery bidder who bought the robe,the contents of which have never been publicly released as far as I know. My feeling is that Wlads prediction on this usb drive was a points win which would explain why Wlad let Joshua off the hook for numerous rounds instead of looking to stop him. Wlad got this wrong and missed his chance which then allowed Joshua back into the fight ultimately stopping Wlad in the 11th round .

 

Not sure how you missed the most important point: 2026 Joshua is not 2017 Joshua. You’re analyzing the problems as if the same fighter is still in there, when the reality is that age, mileage, and other factors have changed what Joshua is capable of doing in the ring.

 

Wladimir let AJ off the hook. If Vitali didn’t tell wladimir to pace himself after the knock down, he probably would’ve Finished Anthony.

 

Wlads failure to finish him was hilarious

God dam useless robot missing telegraphed left hooks

 

Vitali gave Wlad a lot of bad career advice. He told him to fire Steward and rehire Sdunek and told him he should retire after the Brewster loss.

 

Lol, never heard about it. He really told him to fire Steward?

 

Klitschko might have been the one that really broke AJ. Ruiz just finished the job.

 

Well, you have to look at it from Vitali's perspective. Steward came in and his first fight with Wlad was the Lamon Brewster bout. Steward changed Wlad's diet before the fight. Changed Wlad's fighting style a little bit. Brought in Steward's own cut man, Joe Souza.

And Wlad literally collapsed from exhaustion after five rounds and lost. He was rushed to the hospital. There were conflicting reports in the documentary Klitschko, on how desperate Wlad was. There was mention he was close to having a stroke. Anyway, it was a complete disaster.

They initially claimed he was poisoned. His blood sugar was through the roof. Large bets were placed on Brewster just before the match. There was enough evidence that the FBI investigated. Then the Klitschkos blamed Joe Souza for rubbing oil all over Wlad's body, which the Klitschkos' old trainer said didn't allow Wlad to absorb enough oxygen. There were also rumors Souza may have let someone in with his credentials who drugged Wlad.

So, of course, Vitali said we need to dump Steward. It was a total **** show. And Vitali was concerned for his brother's long-term health.

Steward, who was also a cut man, in order to keep his job, agreed to throw the cut man he brought in, Joe Souza, under the bus. And they kept Steward around, and that worked ... BARELY.

Keep in mind Wlad almost lost his second fight with Steward to Davarryl Williamson. Wlad got floored in that one, too. And he got cut. But, being the A-side, when the fight was stopped (somewhat prematurely, because they figured Wlad was ahead) they managed a technical decision win.

Had Wlad lost back-to-back fights with Steward, they probably would've found Steward in a dumpster somewhere.

 

Is there a link to Vitali urging Wlad to fire Steward? It would be consistent with Vitali's other seeming attempts to sabotage Wlad's career: https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/facts-about-vitali.706069/

 

2026 AJ is not 2017 AJ. This is the single biggest reason.

But Wlad messed up horribly. Other old HW punchers (Foreman, Ortiz, Zhang) would have likely finished the job that night:

https://www.boxingforum24.com/threads/badly-hurt-aj-vs-top-41-year-old-hw-punchers.750197/

 

Its purely scientific
The more your brain gets damaged aka concussed the easier your brain gets damaged aka rubber legs/ko'd

Look at Roy Jones,he drained himself back down to light heavyweight and took the most punches he'd ever taken against Tarver in which i wouldnt be suprised if he got multiple concussions.
Then the rematch he was Ko'd with one punch and ever since then his chin was like China.

Joe Joyce too,once you're cracked thats it.

Scientific anomalies are guys like Pacquiao where there lifestyle probably plays a big part on the brain healing process.