What I would do if I was training Joshua

I'd caress his taught lean body

"shhh Anthony, it will be over soon."

 

I would just say to him at the end of a round, without any apparent sense of irony, "Brilliant, AJ, absolutely brilliant!" no matter how much of a pasting he got in that round.

 

that is my thought exactly tinman. bring him in at his strongest. go for the ko and get it or go out on the shield. As you said he is not going to out box Usyk. think in terms of a 6 round fight max. if it fails and he is out of gas after that ...he will lose. he would lose trying to out box him any way. bulk up..go for the power. I actually think that would be his best chance to win. Constant pressure for 6 rounds, power shots

 

If the Parker and second Ruiz fights have taught us anything, it's that Joshua is too timorous to really gamble in the way you're suggesting.

 

How this might help?
Vs Takam he was 254 lbs and it required him 10 rounds till he get win vs Takam.
Vs Pulev he was very impressive 3 rounds, then started to gas out. Btw Pulev was easier fight than Takam: slow and very predictable opponent.
I assumed that Pulev will be KOed in next round, in worst case in 5 th round. Nope!

 

You may be willing to gamble and take a KO as a trainer but that doesn't mean Joshua is.

Joshua is a brand, an image carefully crafted to maximize endorsements, from his gifted decision win at the Olympics to his fine tuned fake humble guy image now.

An Instagram Adonis who, with a current net worth of one hundred million dollars, has his sights already set on his business opportunities when he leaves boxing. He doesn't want a traumatic brain injury, he doesn't want early parkinsons and he certainly doesn't want to be the blood and guts warrior who goes out on his shield.

If Joshua could fight like you suggest he would have already done so against Ruiz the second time and Usyk. He simply would rather lose his belts and make more money in the rematches.

He is a businessman, not a fighter.

 

Joshua is scared of getting caught, he lacks the mentality to ever go out on his shield and I doubt he ever will.

 

didn't Usyk say that once or twice Joshua had him on ***** street? again, he will not out box Usyk. either skip the rematch or come back with a completely different approach.

 

This is AJ's only hope but it's an extremely slim one which would most likely result in him getting knocked out himself.

 

I tend to agree, but If AJ is gunshy and he's had more stamina than ever, he won't have the mindset to have a maximum of 6 rounds in him. Cardio gives AJ confidence, not mass.

He should take a tune-up (Rivas would be a good pick), and face the winner of Uysk/Fury.

 

A TKO for AJ is also possible if he can somehow reopen Usyk's cut early in the fight and get it stopped that way.

 

I don't see how coming in heavier really benefits him. He had enough trouble trying to pin him down when lighter, the extra weight just means he's slower and more easy to evade and more likely to gas out sooner.

It's not like Joshua didn't try and throw, when he did load up he usually found himself hitting air and then out of position as Usyk had changed angles. Joshua can't just go in there and throw, he'll be made to miss and then made to pay for missing.

But he does need to try and press the action more, on the rare occasion he found himself in close he just backed off and established distance again. When he does get close that's when he needs to unload, get physical and make his weight count.

But in the end I don't think it will work for Joshua, he's never been good at cutting off the ring and pressing, the Parker and Takam fights proved that. He's always better when opponents come to him and he counters but Usyk is too smart and always draws the lead out of Joshua instead and counters him.

 

Maybe, but 2 losses back to back buries has career.