Historical Comparison of Joshua rebounding like he did ..

I’m sure it didn’t hurt.

But I’m not sure it made a material difference in how this fight unfolded.

 

I don't doubt he made some changes in his training; just not enough to warrant any real a focus of attention. I didn't really see him as being explosive, either, and he still showed some fairly poor execution of his power shots.

The manner in which he approached this fight is the real difference and that was a quite simple, low output, out-boxer, stick and move tactic, which against Ruiz would work all day, every day.

I hope the big three do sort it out, but I am not convinced it will come to fruition. If it were to happen in the next 18 months, I'd suggest with some confidence (i.e. I'd have a bet on it) that I do not think it ends well for Joshua (0-2).

 

No surprise to me, that.^

The 'Old Skool' training methods line does have a pleasant ring of distraction from the "We could have used these tactics the first time around...." narrative, though.

 

Yes it certainly didn't hurt. It may or may not have made a difference but again, it can't have hurt.

Joshua actually loves the old school parts of his regimen.

Nevertheless, he is happiest when doing old-school Rocky-esque workouts outside. He enjoys gritty hill sprints and sweat-soaked track intervals because outdoor cardio blasts also help to fortify his mental strength. “You can’t beat the old-school training and connecting with nature,” he told me last year. “When you are out, you have to fight and you have got to climb up that hill. And when it’s cold it is like you are running at altitude because you can’t breathe properly so you are fighting just to get your breath. But all these things make it easier when it comes to competing in your sport.”

He aimed and trained to be more explosive. Whether one can notice with the naked eye after one camp is another thing, perhaps.

The way he approached the bout was the big key for sure, but he also trained for that type of fight as well. It all added up very nicely for him.

Sure he's still got issues and is never going to be the GOAT but he's in the mix with the current lot until proven otherwise from here imo.

 

Fair enough, JT.

 

The big thing not being acknowledged is that Joshua was coming in off a bad ko loss. A recent ko loss. Very few heavies respond well to that and most take some softie tune up fights. This guy did not and got right back in the ring with the guy that stopped him. Lots of pressure and lots of guys do not respond to the pressure factor alone.

How rare is that? Lots of folks thought he was ruined and never coming back. But he had the discipline and skills to fight a different fight and win.

And I sure did not see Ruiz reaching into his bag of tricks and doing anything different over the course of the bout.
But how many times have we seen this with plodders? Nothing new and they have no plan B.

 

While I think Ruiz came in a good 15 lbs to heavy, am I the only one who thinks that the larger ring played a part in both Joshua’s effective implementation of his strategy and negated Ruiz’s opportunities to make a fight happen. Perhaps if he was lighter and slightly quicker he could have cut the ring off better, I just saw the ring size as a major Joshua advantage...not taking anything away from his performance. I don’t think it was a fun fight but I do believe he implemented his strategy almost flawlessly.

 

Personally I think your giving him too much credit. He had nothing in front of him this time around. Yes he moved around a stationary man who didnt try an cut the ring off nicely. He didnt show me an improved jab or improved anything for that matter except the above stated. Can he sustain that against a very good pressure fighter who can cut the ring off and disrupted his rythem? Oh wait there arent any HW's that can do that rt now so i guess we wont know anytime soon. I just personally feel the man is getting way too many koodo's here. Not arguing just giving my opinion.

 

https://iconicimages.net/app/uploads/2017/01/MB_SP_OP020.jpg

 

Ali trained in Miami the way everyone had trained until then. Ran in army boots. Sparring, skipping and hitting the bags. Nobody was monitoring his levels or putting him with diet and conditioning experts.

yeah Spinks And Holyfield adopted the new school stuff but had developed the old school way. They were fully experienced fighters of international level before they moved into interval training, protein shakes and weight lifting. I don’t know we can call them “new school”. Probably “converted old school”. Since they still had been brought up as 15 round guys.

Until this fight, if Joshua was not commanding ring centre he gasses Full Stop.

In this fight he obviously practiced being more relaxed on the outside...he did not quite succeed, but he had improved. I have always found he’s okay unloading on people coming forward. The anxiety of being outside and trying to gain ring centre is what I always felt was what drained him. That and getting hit on the chin while he was confused.

what he did was not really that smart. He was throwing a long jab and running away from an exchange. It’s not like he was strategically manoeuvring himself to manipulate Ruiz with some feints or drawing him onto a combination in the way Douglas did to Tyson.

Joshua still reached the point in the fight where he was working harder than he wanted to. Fortunately for him Ruiz did not capitalise. The throwing of a combination would have had Joshua scampering around that bit more and preventing him from establishing a comfort zone within his retreat.

Precisely. There was a lot of this..and he got away with it.

 

What was it he said afterward? “It was so nice I had to do it twice!” Ffs.

 

"Man, the first time was so nice, I had to do it twice!"

One can only hope that his mention of "the first time", wasn't a reference to his being bounced all around the ring by Ruiz Jr, in their first match.

 

That’s what I was wondering... nothing nice for him unless he’s a bit kinky.

 

I think it shows character to come back from defeat, of any level. But, I'm also sure that those boxers, who have done so, would have preferred not to have had to.

I can also understand a degree of celebration; the sense of relief, having won and regained the titles that were lost. However, perhaps there's a limit to how much celebration and relief one should show in such cases. I'm not sure what that limit is, but it seemed to me that AJ and his team might have surpassed it on Saturday night.

 

Joshua fought
Kevin Johnson in his 13th fight
Dillian Whyte in his 15th undefeated
Charles Martin in his 16th undefeated
Breazeale in his 17th undefeated
Molina in his 18th
Klitschko in his 19th
Takam in his 20th
Parker in his 21st undefeated
Povetkin in his 22nd one loss
Ruiz in his 23rd one loss