In my opinion what cost Wlad was no body work! Its all by the by now and I know as the old saying goes if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle but a well timed and accurate body shot would have bin the game changer last night! Klitschko kept head hunting, particularly that left hook and Joshua kept ducking underneath it, I was hoping with Klitschko's exp he would adjust and fire some spiteful punches to the body which with the way Joshua was gassing wouldl've 100% taken him out of the fight last night Fury may not be a big puncher, and some would argue for a heavyweight that is boring, but for me unless AJ changes how heavy he comes in or works on fitness a bit more Fury could easily get AJ out there with a bodyshot, like it or not Fury has a great boxing brain and his punch variety would see him work Joshua up and down and if he saw Joshua blowing like that he could fire to the body, even Prince Patel couldl've rolled Joshua up with a body shot last night. Why Wlad didn't throw to the body I will never know, all in all though, great fight last night, boxing won last night, cracking fight no matter who you like but I didn't see anything boxing wise last night from Joshua that was overly impressive tbh, still got a lot of work to do
Very good point. I m not sure joshuas keen on the body shots...who is. Think klitchko didnt want to risk being countered with something big tho. Bit riskier going for the body especially when he was pretty much outboxing him anyway. Disagree about joshuas stamina tho...its actually very good. The problem hes got is it goes when hes hit. Regardless what weight he comes in. Physically he shuts down. Stamina goes. They wont be able to fix that. Only way is to find a way to get hit less. His recoveries actually quite bad....mentally its not bad physically it is tho. its just that his physical fitness is so good eventually he recovers. I dont think its a weight issue more a punch resistance one. He doesnt have a glass chin but he does have short term recuperation problems...big time. Everything goes from him physically. It,ll come back to haunght him somewhere down the line. Totally agree about the body shots tho...very good point.
Good post, I know Klitschko has never really been a body puncher and you are right he was probably wary of something big coming back but if he did catch Joshua with a decent bodyshot I think it would of been Klitschkos fight. I do agree with you on his recovery skills, even against Whyte it took him 2 rounds to properly recover, and it will definitely haunt him somewhere down the line, I wouldln't call him glass chinned either but his recovery is terrible, a fighter with a real killer instinct to finish it there and then, which Whyte and Wlad didn't seem to have in their fights with him, would get him out of there imo. Wlad boxed fantastic last night though, at 41 that deserves nothing but respect, he fought a great fight, and credit to Joshua for recovering eventually and digging deep
Spot on post. Totally agree if he,d have went for the body shots when he had joshua hurt i think he would have won it as well. Unsure weather they we,re worth the risk when joshua wasnt hurt but when he was. It could easily have got him the win. Hes actually got slightly lucky against klitchko in that he was probably too old to finish him a fresher fighter probably would have. And that dillon whyte i m sure hurt his right shoulder as he was going in for the kill. Unclear weather he would have got the job done but pretty sure you can see in the replay that he jars it. But fair play joshua deserves credit for last nite dug in and got the win. Yeah klitchko was fantastic for 41. Put a lot of critiscm to bed with that performance.
If he'd mixed it in the rounds he had Joshua in huge trouble he'd have got the stoppage. Head hunted and didn't land another big one.
Like you, i don't think he has chin issues. He doesn't move his head enough though and he moves in straight lines. It makes him predictable imo and as such susceptible to a big shot. He took too many of them last night. The bell saved him in the 5th incredibly. To offer an opinion on the subject title, I'd say age and inactivity.
Agree with Mc2 if Joshua fights someone fresher it could cost him the fight Twentyman I wouldln't say age and inactivity, for 41 Klitschko boxed out of his skin and was in fantastic shape, he may have not had enough to keep on Joshua as much as he should have but 41 or not, if he wouldl've tagged Joshuas body when he had him hurt it would of been all over, I do agree with you that he is predictable and susceptible though. Joshuas boxing basics and fundamentals aren't great at all imo
Even without bodywork, Wlad had AJ beat in round 6 and couldn't finish him! Round 5 AJ knocked Wlad down which took a lot of energy and Wlad also looked tired. Round 6 Wlad looked like he had a 1 hour rest, came out fresh and I thought AJ was in serious trouble. Obviously AJ went down, but Wlad should have finished AJ here or the rounds following. AJ had a risky tactic, whether he wanted to do it or was forced to due to no energy, but barely threw punches and started to recover some energy - enough to give him a powerful round 11. Boxing wise Joshua didn't do anything great, but what he did show was heart Which he's never had to show before!
Good posts. One thing that amazed me last nite was how they got up. All knockdowns looked quite heavy. Joshua went down as if it was over...as soon as he hit the deck up he got sure klitchko was the same. They done well. Mentally joshua can take these shots. His brains seems fine with the trauma. Physically hes spent tho...but his size. Very good fitness and mentally not falling apart is keeping him in there long enough for him to recover. Theres some positives as well from last night. Your right twentyman but i think your stuck with how he is. I dont think hes that talented in terms of boxing ability. Hes never going to be the most fluent boxer pretty much been built for being able to take people out with power strength size. He is a bit robotic i m not sure he has the timing for head movement. You start adding that to his game at this stage...he ll end up concentrating on it too much. Needs to improve his footwork. He could learn a lot from klitchko if he wants longetivity. Needs to get that jab working as a weapon. Slow down. Get in control of fights. Fair play they ve built an entertaining fighter. But how long does that style last because the first time knocking him out will be the hardest. It,ll get easier from there. Needs to get the big fights in now then leave the game early with a style like that.
That was always my pick against joshua. Hes got the perfect style to beat him...dont think he was big enough for it tho. Plus hes finished. As much as i hate to admit it...timing was miles off against bellew. Had to totally reign his game in to start getting the upperhand. I dont think them hayemakers are landing against anyone half decent nowadays. We,re quite telegraphed a lot of the time anyway. But now hes throwing them from even further back with his wide stance hes been using under mcguigan. Joshuas gran would get out the way of them.
Hmm... I rewatched the bellew fight and he was clearly dragging his back leg even before his Achilles went so personally think he was injured from the off (probably stating the obvious here). I'm open minded about what he has left...has to come in lighter though...
I honestly believe the only difference between both fighters was simply who was better at jumping on the other opponent when they were hurt. Most HW would have jumped on the knock downs and game over. AJ showed a better killer instinct that's all. To say AJ is the next Ali though and global superstar is premature and most probably a million miles away. Sad thing is though that Fury is the only name everyone is saying can stop him so is it him or is it the HW at the moment are at best average compared to the glory days?
It's an exciting time for the heavyweight division but these fights need setting up. Joshua, Fury, Wilder, Parker & just looking in from the outside you have Ortiz, Povetkin, Pulev, Whyte, Hughie Fury, Haye if he can get himself fit and now Bellew too. I've missed a few names but you get my point.
