Have to give him his props on being a top blagger. He was an ex footballer turned PT who was in and around Saunders camp and got in with MTK.
The big question that needs to be answered is.....how does joshua keep dubois off him in a rematch. Lets say he goes with the high guard etc.
Learn to defend a jab first off. Then learn to bring his hands back after each punch. These things are boxing 101. He's still learning on the job koogz. He didn't start boxing when he was ****ing 6 like Usyk.
That wont help keep dubois off him tho. Theres a very good reason he wasnt boxing 101 imo. Dubois has the better jab he also puts his punches together much better and has faster feet. Joshuas transition from high guard to offence is too slow. He was getting beat to the punch by helenius.....now put in a guy that puts his punches together much better who has the better jab i say that ends in joshua getting battered again.
I think it would slow down Dubois attacks if he wasn't getting caught so much. If Joshua was moving his feet quicker he'd be out of range of the punch that knocked him down in the 1st. Dubois was pouncing at the right moments rather than just being wild and rash. It's also hard to read too much into any round after the 1st due to Joshua's pish poor powers of recovery. I can imagine a rematch not being quite so one-sided, but there's not much in favour of Joshua winning.
All Joshua has going for him is the Riyadh Marathon tactics for 12 rounds adopted in the Ruiz rematch and hopes Dubois hits Burger King three times per day to slow him down. Joshua has always had poor punch resistance and he only needs hit once, not even a hayemaker, to fall apart. Many people think it has just deteriorated recently but the evidence was there in 2015 when British Level Whyte wobbled him in round 2, in 2017 when old Wlad at 41 years of age badly hurt him at Wembley and in 2019 when the Fighting Pride of Burger King destroyed him in New York. Put simply Hearn's Joshua hype is tripe, he is levels below the greats of boxing and I actually use the word mediocre as a fair assessment of him.
I doubt Joshua can run away from Dubois to survive 12 rounds. Dubois does not have short little arms like Ruiz. Joshua's only hope is to land the kind of punch he landed on Dubois moments before he was KO'd, then land a series of equivalent follow ups. It is possible - but less likely than Dubois doing it to him . Dubois has better chin, better recovery, better skill, more strength. He knows what to do - the same as he did last Saturday - and he will strive to make a better job of it. I doubt the fight takes place next.
AJ has the power to keep anyone off him but for some reason his defence has gone **** tier. Compare him vs Dubois in the last exchange. Dubois saw every shot coming and kept his shape defensively, AJ was throwing with his hands down like a 16 year old roadman. It doesn't have to be high guard, you just have to have your shape right where your hands/shoulders/elbows can get in the way a bit and you can move your head/feet. Dubois' defence is leaky but AJ made him look like Toney. It's too late for AJ though. You can't fix the fundamentals at 35.
Look at who he has knocked out and you will see how Hearn works - all very low risk fights mainly against old and/or small men. In real terms a liberty in nearly all of the KOs. That power suffered a serious power cut when facing a number of fighters so I am not sure he is a thunderous puncher. Agree with the rest though, he is what he is and the reason there is no more progress in him is not just age, he learned nothing from the plethora of mismatches on the way to a vacant World Title.
No, no, no that can’t be right. Tony ‘impartial’ Bellew said that everything Dubois did well AJ did a bit better.
Davison had so much time to work on this I translate "roll the dice" in the fight as "we didn't train defense for 3 training camps so just hurry up and try to get a knockout or you'll make me look bad"
Well then he needs some head movement or something. Not even any attempt at that just standing there getting hit.
The whole camp needs to go. There was a distinct lack of professionalism from team AJ throughout fight week. He was late to several pre-fight events and only arrived at the stadium at 9pm. That tells me there is a complete lack of professionalism and respect in the camp. He wasn't ready, he wasn't warmed up, he was full of nervous energy (hence the abundance of errors boxing) and he got smashed to pieces. His next fight will be his last
I disagree with the last sentence - he will go back to fighting small and/or old men without power, zero risk opponents per nearly all of his CV wins, for his 2nd comeback trail. The end goal is to eventually fight Dillian Whyte for the English Area Title at the York Hall on Only Fans Box Office in 2027.
