Klitschko's trainer finally admits: Wladimir has lost a step, he's fighting on his last will

James Ali Bashir admitted that Wlad is not the same fighter he once was, he's getting older

'Just like everybody else (at this age), Wladimir has lost a step. Everybody misses a step. We have a young guy and an old guy, who is fighting on his last will. I’m just being a realistic about what’s going on here'.

More on Bashir thoughts about AJ vs Wlad: boxingnews.com.ua/en/news/18534-trener-klichko-priznal-vladimir-stareet

What do you guys think?

Wlad said that he needs to know the truth and if anybdy from his team notices he's getting older and slower, he'd better say it to Wlad's face. Well, Bashir admitted it in this interview.

 

Wlad is getting blasted out in 6 rounds, Bashir is right.

 

We've been suspecting this for a while.

He looked so-so against Jennings and most guys said it was a style issue.

He looked plain bad against Fury, and while Fury has to get a lot of credit for being a much better boxer than everybody thought, it seems as though Wlad is old and just can't pull the trigger anymore. What is a ray of hope is the Pulev fight where he looked good and threw some serious artillery to get him out of there.

I think if he can scrape his mental game together, he may still have a few good fights left in him.

If he went AJ, Wilder, Parker / Fury2 and won all of them and retired, I reckon it would be big for his legacy.

 

I truly think he has enough left to knockout Joshua. I bet he surprises a lot of people in this fight

 

I think so too. But he must let his hands go. If he lets AJ into the fight it could turn out badly for him. Wlad needs to give him a taste of the power early on, and also try to avoid clinching too much. AJ is nothing if not a powerhouse.

 

Exactly. And I'm sure he realizes this, especially after the result of his last fight. He needs to let his shots go. Banks is probably drilling that into his head majorly as we speak.

 

In the build up to the Fury fight, he seemed tentative and, dare I say, a little intimidated by Tyson's antics. He was unsettled going into the bout and fought like he had lost the battle of minds. So far, in the build up to the AJ fight he has seemed re-energised and confident. The mind controls the body. Expect a better Wlad against AJ than who stepped into the ring with Fury...

 

Wlad was in the ring last time over a year ago. He will lose a step or more each year at his current age.

 

Yep that's exactly the way I view it. I think the Fury loss has bothered the **** out of him and he wants to redeem himself from that last showing. I wouldn't be surprised if he starts firing off the big shots in the first round. He no doubt needs to establish that jab and get the respect early.

 

I think Wlad was in a bad space at home for that one, and the brash Brit took a crowbar and opened Wlad's braincan and swished it around in there. I used to go to school with poms, and by god, they could f*ck up your head if they put their minds to it. I found Fury hilarious but I'd not want to be on the flip side of the coin though and deal with his tomfoolery.

 

I think you might be right and if he has lost a step maybe surprising AJ and being more aggressive from the get-go is his best option. How will AJ cope with someone who jabs and hurts him? Will he suck it up or fold like a pack of cards? I think hurting AJ early and taking his confidence away is Wlad's best path. I don't think this fight will need the judges...

 

Yeah us Brits love our banter... lol

 

Nothing more than mind games to give the opposition camp a false sense of security.

 

100% agreed. It's pretty safe to say Joshua has never been in with somebody that can crack with both hands as hard as Wlad. Wonder what went down in the sparring.? You can see Joshua already has A LOT of respect for Wlad. And like you said.. Wlad seems VERY loose and confident in the pressers and face offs

 

That's what I'm thinking