Now that he’s definitely past his best, we can now look back in retrospect. Some may say the Klitschko fight, but he did make technical improvements after that, he became more versatile with the lead hand, changing the position of it, better with feints, then after the Ruiz fights, he became looser with his movement, whether that was for the best is up for debate. When would you say his prime was?
I'd say 2018-2022 in terms of skills. There's always been a steady decline in mentality since 2019, I think we are at the point of a physical decline at age 35.
I'm shocked as I really thought going into last night he was more confident and ready than ever before and that Dubois, who looked so hittable was made to order but what do I know ?
This was the best hes looked his last 2 fights. AJ hasn't been regarded this highly since before he encountered Andy Ruiz.
"Now that he’s definitely past his best," Jerking Knee Syndrome is something that can be controlled partly by a B-complex vitamin and cutting back on any excessive carbohydrates. Please, see your doctor.
This. The Bodybuilder was never a born fighter, he is a born Athlete. Last night it was the same Aj as usual, stiff as a board, no head movement, no Ring IQ and got wobbled every time a punch came thru……..he did not have his usual diet of washed up old has been or never were’s in front of but a fighter who was convinced he could not be denied and came to win…….this is even a better demolition job Fat Andy did. Rematch, lol, unless Dubois balloones to 350 pounds like the Mextaco ,Aj ‘s goose is cooked even faster.
He’s visibly past his best due to psychological damage, it was masquerading through fights with Wallin, who he allegedly had countless spars with and nearly always had the better of, and apparently had to hold back to carry him through the spars, also he’s not a physical presence who is aggressive or has power, not the sort to test Joshua’s mentality, and Ngannou is an MMA fighter with very flawed boxing fundamentals, I even noticed Ngannou was stepping in far too much with the jab, no feints predictable rhythm, overcommitting, it was obvious even before Joshua capitalised.
Ruiz put an unexpected beating on him in 2019 when he was at the 22 fight mark, never beaten and still in his 20's, was he past it then? His previous bouts had a lot of people thinking he was better than ever. Truth is at this point he was always pretty beatable especially with a good puncher who pressured him. He's done enough to get himself into the era's second tier behind Usyk and Fury.
He showed real physical decline last night, I think it’s over for Joshua. However the Ruiz loss really did damage his confidence. He’s never been the same since that fight. His recent run was mostly fool’s gold. Ngannou with basically zero experience was a fight that did nothing for Joshua and may have even been detrimental going into this fight. Dubois is young, aggressive and can definitely punch, what he lacks in defense and polish he made up for with unbridled aggression. AJ with his defense declined was not ready for that assault. He is just about 35 now and usually exiting your prime. Seems so for Joshua.
Eddie said AJ was better than ever going into the Dubois fight. Realistically, I think he was at his best around the time he fought Parker. Downhill since he came across Ruiz