Joshua has always looked a bit vulnerable to a good jab

No catching, blocking or parrying. Barely any slipping or head movement. Fundamental defensive skills. Something you'd expect from someone who is picked as favourite.

Seemingly thinking he was going to will his way to victory? He's still the same person that lost it after the Usyk fight.

 

For someone with AJ's backing, experience, the trainers he has had, the amount of techinical amateurish mistakes he made in the fight was shocking

 

In the first couple of minutes of the fight I thought that DuBois' jab was quicker and thrown with more serious intent and calcultaion. Kinda set the tone imo.

 

And Joshua kept throwing and missing the same counter right hand he KO'ed Ngannou with and Dubois saw it EVERY SINGLE TIME. No adjustment at all to try something else from AJ or the mastermind Ben Davison.

 

Meh... I didn't say any particular trainer/game plan could have helped him. My point is that I think Joshua was stoned on the smoke blown up his ass after redeeming the honor of boxing (which I agree he did) and he just phoned his camp in. He might have been there exercising, but his mind was sucking up that sweet, intoxicating fan worship.

 

This. I thought his keeping his hands low as early as the first round and not moving his head or stepping back were some actual game plan cooked up by Davison, setting up some trap for later on - a weird and dangerous game plan, sure, but they are professionals and they know better than us armchair experts. It turned out that these things were exactly what they looked like - bafflingly amateurish and fundamental mistakes.

 

He was vulnerable to more then just a jab against Dubois,

hands down at his waist like Roy Jones’s
Most of the fight.
& pulling straight back with his chin in the air
Again …. With his guard down like Ryan Garcia.

 

Ben Davison and Lee Wylie literally ARE armchair experts. Those two combined had literally as much boxing experience as you or me.

 

I've re-watched the fight and have to give him some credit. Before he got knocked down in round 1 he was trying to be defensive, and to a degree he did OK.

But anything that he was doing in that first two and a half minutes ended with the knockdown. He lost his composure, might have been slightly concussed so it was all downhill from there.

 

It's baffling to think Dubois himself is very vulnerable to the jab, or at least he was when he fought Joyce who jabbed his head off. Dubois simply has learned to move his head a little, not a lot just a little and it was enough to make him harder to hit with the jab from Joshua and allow him to win the battle of the jabs.

Joshua has declined, not because he's old or shot. I think having not fought a genuinely competitive fight in over 2 years, his skills simply have regressed. He was making stupid mistakes, he'd throw and then sit there to be countered, like he used to pre-Ruiz, which is why he lost every exchange. Yeah get your shots off but if you stand there afterwards you will get hit, it's like he forgot how to move. He was backing up in straight lines with his hands down by his chest which is what led to the first knockdown.

 

Fight go very bad from the begin. Joshua was catch by stupid shots throw from miles because he dont use his feet properly and stay on range too long.

Most shock to me is fact that Dubois was quicker. Not a lot but still. In other fights this looks different and that why many people belive Joshua is massive favorite.

Joshua when he is heart same as Wilder startą fight for live with slow motion effects. For real he show big heart and mental here to survive that with strong puncher like Daniel for soo long (better clinching and block than in past)
Bell really help him also.
Soo we cant even judge Joshua skills because all fight after being wobbled he fight on automatic instinct.

When he started looking better and Dubois little tired he catch Dubois with super shot but he was to shaky to remeber lessons from past and go for KO.
That was huge mistake.
Who know how Daniel would look after this shot. Maybe he will be slow down and then Joshua can comeback 100% and start using his advantage.
But he go for KO and being KO because Daniel was to still in enough good shape to throw counter.

Now like people always do they will talk how bad Anthony always was. Nope. He is very good boxer but with some limits.
Choosing Daniel looks like mistake. His style work terrible for him.
Sometimes better choose easier way. Better for them not for us fans off course.

 

I don't get the lean back bull**** he was doing, AJ is really good at stepping out of range, yet he barely utilised that last night? Why? I'm thinking it might have been the trainer, we know how Davison loves a defensive fighter, he tried the same with Fury after his comeback.