I kinda think its his resolve more than anything. Ever since Ruiz 1 he's not been the confident combination puncher he was nor does he seem as aggressive. Some people say its the steroids wearing off which could be it although I doubt it. I think its mores his confidence that broke, but what do you guys think?
I don't think it's any one thing. Certainly, he seems mentally broken since the first Ruiz knockdown. He's less confident, more tentative and there are times, not just against Usyk, where he seems clueless. Physically, let's start with the obvious, he is getting older. He's 33 years old and not everyone ages at the same pace. While he was never what could be called athletic and limber as a fighter he now seems stiff and inflexible. He also struggles with JPS. (Joshua Perception Syndrome) He was probably not as good as perceived in the couple of years before the first Ruiz fight. Also, he has not been as bad as perceived since that fight. Since the Ruiz loss, he handled Ruiz comfortably in the rematch, had no problem with Kubrat Pulev and contrary to popular opinion had a relatively easy time with Jermaine Franklin. He was severely outclassed by Usyk, an all-time great, but he improved noticeably in the second bout. On a top heavyweight 1 to 10 scale, we talk like he's dropped from a 9 to a 4 when, in reality, he's dropped from an 8 to a 6.
His problem is that he's mentally disabled and not a true fighting man His first mistake was putting on the gloves when he should've enlisted in the International Fitness and Bodybuilding Federation
Yep pretty much this. But he's been able to be champ and top contender and thrive because the division is the worst it's ever been. Rose colored glasses or not, I'm beginning to think maybe even the bare-knuckle greats would whup these guys.
He's a bully-thug persona. Go into the ring, be bigger than most opponents, have the better 'help', have the better facilities and training circumstances (better support system, sparring partners etc.), have the cheer squads. Have it all in your favour. It works out until some underdog takes it to him successfully and he can't run over them. Then he falls apart like the low-IQ, mentally-weak, spoiled thug POS he is. Anyone who still defends this entity after the Usyk rematch antics is possibly worse than AJ himself.
That gunshot of a punch that Wladimir hit him with in the 6th round destroyed his psyche, he was never the same after that fight.
Joshua must be aggressive and unleash that beast that may still be deep inside him. If the fight against Wilder happens, he must not be careful, maybe something will happen in that fight and Joshua will release that beast and start fighting aggressively...
Lol That was such a bomb that very well could be true. What ever they had Joshua on for that fight was a wicked substance to get him through it and get that crazy second wind in the 11th out of nowhere. But I think that 2nd Usyk defeat REALLY destroyed his psyche.
He's definitely lost his way. Ever since the Ruiz loss he seems focused on being a pure out boxer, taking away one of his strengths which is his ability to fight on the inside which he is good at for such a big man. While it's great to work on a fighters weakness which in Joshua's case has always been his lack of movement, he's focused so much on that he's thrown away his original strengths. He was never going to beat Usyk from the outside trying to out box him, he needed to make the fight an inside fight and put him on the ropes and unload but instead he fought like he was fighting Ruiz and that was obviously a huge mistake. Joshua seems unable to mix his old style with his new style to suit the opponent, he's just caught in this out boxer style he's had since Ruiz. Even if he could mix his styles he's still got a big hole in is make up as a super heavyweight and that's clinching, posting, framing etc, basically using his size to manhandle smaller opponents to maintain distance and to force them into position where he can land. It's what allowed Foreman despite his lack of speed to beat faster fighters, it's what helped Lewis dominate his era and Wlad dominate his and now we have Fury too using these skills to reach the top of the division, until Joshua can learn these skills fast fighters like Ruiz can beat him on inside and boxers like Uysk can out speed him on the outside.
He's an insecure bully, depending on an "I used to be a real bad guy" insecurity to make people fear and respect him. In his first 15 fights, he used to chase those guys down, batter them and smile at them whilst doing so. After he got stopped, he realised he's just another bum in the shower.