how bad was AA exposed as a club fighter

At least he tried to challenge the big guys and made huge fight. Which he deserves credit for. I prefer that than staying at middleweight and fighting bums like Sturm. :hat

 

I hadn't looked at it from the aspect of him taking Miranda's 0. I suppose that's a significant factor too.

Your analysis is pretty accurate. To add to that, I can think of other possible reasons that might explain why he didn't let his hands go against Ward or Froch:

(1) They kept too busy. Part of the game plan for beating a pressure-shell fighter like AA is to just keep throwing punches. As long as you are throwing punches he has to stay in his shell and won't be able to do much.

(2) Ward mentioned that AA "really doesn't like it to the body. No one likes it to the body, but AA REALLY doesn't like it to the body.". I think I remember others mentioning this as well -- I think it was Dirrell or someone from his camp. Dirrell, Froch and Ward all hit AA to the body. I give Dirrell (and/or his camp) credit for being the first to expose this as one of the keys to beating AA. One of the things I remember most about Dirrell vs AA is the crosses he kept throwing to AA's stomach. Very nice, very crisp, and actually had some pop to them (more than Ward's). Ward and Dirrell also both threw some nice left hooks to AA's right side, behind his elbow's. The body shots may have taken their toll and had the effect of slowing AA down enough that he couldn't explode out of his shell and flurry like he has done in the past.

(3) Movement & footwork. Ward did this better than Dirrell, and obviously better than Miranda. Ward is a true boxer and with that he has very nice footwork. Part of the technique he employed in keeping AA at a distance was very careful footwork and positioning. He was in tune to AA and would move with him whenever AA moved forward or back. He did a great job of maintaining perfect distance the entire fight, and kept stable while doing it. Contrast this to Dirrell who relied more on his long reach and then sprinting away whenever he was in danger. When AA tried to double jab, Ward took a small step back with each jab and then pushed his jab in while AA's left was still out, snapping AA's head back.

(4) AA did try to go for the kill against Dirrell, and started getting pretty close in the last 2 rounds. Dirrell seemed like he was starting to get desperate but it's possible he was just trying to coast to a win. Even when he was running away he still seemed able to defend himself and was landing good counters and still dodging shots.

(5) AA did try to go after Ward, but Ward was too skilled to let him get close (see point #3). Jabs and other punches usually stopped AA before he could get started. If not that, then Ward would just completely evade through ducks, slips and pivots, making AA throw crazy hooks that missed my a mile.

I think AA has a certain appeal as a heavy puncher with a strong yet basic blocking defense. Like a tank that just keeps coming forward until it finds and opening and then unleashing it's offense on you. But it was long overdue that his weaknesses would be exposed. Another way to think about his is like one of the later stage bosses in a game like Mike Tyson's Punch Out. He has almost all the strengths and qualities of the final boss, but the pattern to beating him is a little easier once you figure it out.

 

I wonder just how much moving up in weight affected him? At MW he looked like he was carrying too much muscle

 

Yep