I don't care if I'll see him doing as before, what's important is to see him doing better, even different. Or if not, he knows he has to retire.
Joshua needs to roll the clock back to when he wasn't so hesitant and cautious, a bit like when he fought Whyte, just went out there and got stuck in.
AJ is just as good as he always was. In 2017 either AJ or Wilder was no.1, we never really knew, with old Klit + Povetkins, Ortizs, Parkers, Whytes etc. being a level below Now in 2023 the division has a bloke who is quite possibly one of the 20 greatest fighters of all time in Usyk and a generational heavyweight in Fury AJ still runs through your Joyces, Duboiss, Hrgovics whether you like it or not. Armchair psychology and other DKSAB-tier nonsense doesn't change this. AJ is chinny and stiff, yes, but has excellent punch selection at mid-range, good counterpunching for a guy his size and I only really see him losing to unconventional guys with an elite mindset Blows my mind how people can watch the Franklin or Pulev or even Usyk rematch and think AJ is some B-list fighter. Was AJ overhyped? Yes. Was AJmania annoying? Yes. But if you think he's losing to anyone other than Usyk/Fury/Wilder, you're the type of person who would make an excellent boxing commentator who quite literally can't process what he's watching
A lot of people said Roberto Duran was finished after losing to Kirkland Laing. Look at what happened after. Its possible that Joshua comes back better. Anything is possible. But I highly doubt it.
Needs to change his style. His stance and get someone like chisora in for constant sparring. Chisora wont learn him anything new....what he will learn him tho is how to fight it out. Something chisora will force you to do unless your too good or your movements too good for him anyway. I,d leave derick james right now. Training him too punch 200 punches a round in training while bringing him in at 254 lbs. Someone needs to teach him how to actually fight instead of just boxing. How to properly set up his offense. The whole gameplan throughout his career seems to be we,ll box and hope for something to come off through it. Its not bad. But with a questionable chin and questionable stamina at heavyweight...its always an accident waiting to happen. Hes also too upright. Needs to train in bursts. Learn how to slow down a fight. How to make the opponent apprehensive too come forward. Until you do that again its an accident waiting to happen. The stance is the biggest problem imo. Needs to change to left foot infront....right at the back. Wider stance than he has. Jab. Lean in with the right. He,ll start knocking people out with it.
I haven't seen much evidence of the 'Old AJ' since Charles Martin (a complete imposter belt holder as you'll ever see). Old AJ is a myth just as AJ the Olympic champion was. Biggest robbery since Seoul in 88.
He needs to beat Big baby Miller to overcome his fears. Miller is the reason why he was like that in the first place.
>boxing bookies Gonna avoid that bait I'm not trying to fanboy AJ or Matchroom or bash Joe or Frank btw. I think Joyce's victory over Parker was a real signature win for him and better than anything AJ has done since Povetkin But styles make fights, and without being rude, you can't list me any reasons Joe wins this one without simply telling me his attributes or playing armchair psychologist or using boxing maths AJ, for all his MANY faults, was built to demolish guys like Joyce. He's quicker with his hands, esp. basic combos like 1-2s, much more defensively sound, and his high guard takes away a lot of Joyce's jabbing imo (unless Joe tries to trade) and has the STRAIGHT punch selection to crack Joe over and over again at mid-range through his guard. Joyce would get dropped long before he could accumulate enough clean leather on AJ like he did Dubois or Parker. AJ also has clearly better punching technique and power than DDD who has only sparked kickboxers or journeymen