LAILA ALI's ADVICE FOR ANTHONY JOSHUA

[Best Coast]

Laila says AJ needs to work on his conditioning and endurance a bit more...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZC-sjen45Ks

Your thoughts?

[Best Coast]

I think Laila is on to something. Improved endurance on the part of AJ could have spared him the resurgence of Wlad that caused AJ to visit the canvas in the 6th. Joshua was pretty gassed after dropping Wlad in the 5th and that led to him getting dropped in the very next round.

[Baby Face Finster]

Nothing like advice stating the obvious. I bet Joshua's team had never thought of this. Thank you Laila.

[asdfjkl]

She's right, but Joshua already knew this in the end of round 5 of the Klitschko fight.

[gp.]

Nothing like advice stating the obvious. I bet Joshua's team had never thought of this. Thank you Laila.

Yes, I was going to advise him to stop training and lie around all day eating cake. I see the error of my ways now.

[Bard of Boxrec]

i would love a bit of laila

[gilgamesh]

It's pretty hilarious that she thinks she has any advice to give him. By beating Klitschko he's already far surpassed anything she ever accomplished or even could've accomplished by a wide margin.

[Kalan]

I think Laila is on to something. Improved endurance on the part of AJ could have spared him the resurgence of Wlad that caused AJ to visit the canvas in the 6th. Joshua was pretty gassed after dropping Wlad in the 5th and that led to him getting dropped in the very next round.

Joshua is not going to completely dominate and destroy every opponent he ever faces.. He's going to have fights where he's in trouble even if he goes undefeated for his entire career -- which isn't likely if he fights for another 10 or 12 years.. Every fighter has ebbs and flows versus certain opponents who are tough match-ups for them.. Those opponents may not be particularly tough match-up for somebody else in their division.. Styles make fights.

Wladimir Klitschko had 8 X the experience Anthony Joshua had... The feeling among many was that he'd prevail if the fight got into the championship rounds because he was trained to the minute, had so many more rounds, and had gone the distance many times... Joshua had more gas in the tank in the 10th and 11th and ran Klitschko over -- dropping him twice and driving him all over the ring in a brutal assault... It was a high octane finish.

Laila doesn't know what she's talking about.. She never fought anyone who could fight.. The fact is, Joshua does tons of endurance exercises including swimming, roadwork, and wind sprints... Strength training is of growing importance in today's Heavyweight Division and it needs to be a primary focus.. So does flexibility training, speed training, cardio conditioning, and endurance training.. Joshua spends a lot of money on coaches and trainers and it has paid off to date.. My own advice is to concentrate on blocking, parrying, slipping, ducking, rolling, and countering shots masterfully and developing an impregnable defense.. The better you defend the more at ease and comfortable you feel regardless of who you're facing.

When he got nailed with that right AJ was slipping jabs and looking for another jab.. It didn't come. A straight right hand clipped his chin inside and underneath the guard.. I always thought he'd get hit with one of those during the fight.. Most guys with AJ's experience would have lost their cool at that point.. Joshua worked his way back into the fight by making sure he didn't get tagged solidly again -- and didn't resume strong offensives until he was 100% clear. In a situation where you get hit real good, that's the best you can do. Ortiz has many ways to hurt you once you're on the hook, so that's a guy you should be wary of until you have 3 or 4 more fights.

[Best Coast]

Kalan > Good analysis of AJ, who has had phenomenal success for a guy whose been pro for such a short time, but I have a hunch he would receive Ali's advice more readily than you did. One reason he is doing so well so early in his pro career is he has been humble enough to listen to the advice of the experts he's surrounded himself with and I'm pretty sure he would receive Laila's advice for what it's worth, even with all the caveats you mention and even coming from a non-expert like her.

What really surprised me about Laila's take was the fact that she considers Joshua vs Wilder to be a 50-50 fight!!

Most everyone here can agree that AJ would be a SOLID favorite over the untested Deontay Wilder.

[Enlightened-One]

There’s absolutely fornicate all wrong with Anthony Joshua’s stamina/conditioning!

There are people that frequent this forum that don’t truly understand the sport of boxing and have never competed in it, so they make assumptions based on symptoms rather than considering or researching the actual root causes.

The Brit is possibly one of the most athletically-gifted 250lb-ers to have ever attained world-rated top-tier status… so what went wrong with AJ's stamina against Klitschko?

1) AJ had unnecessarily gained weight due to only competing in two fights over ten months

2) Joshua is still a novice, which means his stamina management was poor

3) Anthony’s naivety and poor strategy compelled him to “put all of his eggs into one basket”, by going for broke in the fifth round in a desperate attempt to stop his Ukrainian foe, but he didn’t expect Klitschko to withstand the onslaught and return fire with equal venom in the very next round

AJ has already stated that he’s learned an awful lot in facing Wladimir and he conceded that he now appreciates the reason why Robert McCracken criticised his weight so aggressively when he entered training camp for his bout against Klitschko. Instead of taking a long break after his most recent fight against the Ukrainian Hall-of-Famer, he pretty much immediately returned to the gym in a bid to lose weight.

The Brit has already stated that he will adopt a different mind-set in the rematch by taking fewer unnecessary risks, such as refraining from recklessly and impulsively trying to force a premature stoppage of his opponent when they don’t appear to be in distress (i.e. Klitschko was in his comfort zone at the time when AJ went for broke in the fifth round of their fight). So AJ will now only try to “close the show” when he recognises that his opponent is in trouble.

To illustrate my theory with an analogy…

Mo Farrah is possibly the world’s best 10K runner in athletics, but if he tried to run that distance at full pelt, much akin to Usain Bolt doing 100m, then he’d be exhausted by 200m. A similar thing occurred to AJ at the end of the fifth round of his fight against Klitschko.

Simply put: the reason why AJ ran out of gas pretty early against Klitschko, was because: he was far too heavy; he’s inexperienced and didn’t manage his stamina very well; and also partly due to his poor strategy, by using 100% of his energy trying to force a stoppage.

[Best Coast]

There’s absolutely eff all wrong with Anthony Joshua’s stamina/conditioning!

There are people that frequent this forum that don’t truly understand the sport of boxing and have never competed in it, so they make assumptions based on symptoms rather than considering or researching the actual root causes.

The Brit is possibly one of the most athletically-gifted 250lb-ers to have ever attained world-rated top-tier status… so what went wrong with AJ's stamina against Klitschko?

1) AJ had unnecessarily gained weight due to only competing in two fights over ten months

2) Joshua is still a novice, which means his stamina management was poor

3) Anthony’s naivety and poor strategy compelled him to “put all of his eggs into one basket”, by going for broke in the fifth round in a desperate attempt to stop his Ukrainian foe, but he didn’t expect Klitschko to withstand the onslaught and return fire with equal venom in the very next round

AJ has already stated that he’s learned an awful lot in facing Wladimir and he conceded that he now appreciates the reason why Robert McCracken criticised his weight so aggressively when he entered training camp for his bout against Klitschko. Instead of taking a long break after his most recent fight against the Ukrainian Hall-of-Famer, he pretty much immediately returned to the gym in a bid to lose weight.

The Brit has already stated that he will adopt a different mind-set in the rematch by taking fewer unnecessary risks, such as refraining from recklessly and impulsively trying to force a premature stoppage of his opponent when they don’t appear to be in distress (i.e. Klitschko was in his comfort zone at the time when AJ went for broke in the fifth round of their fight). So AJ will now only try to “close the show” when he recognises that his opponent is in trouble.

To illustrate my theory with an analogy…

Mo Farrah is possibly the world’s best 10K runner in athletics, but if he tried to run that distance at full pelt, much akin to Usain Bolt doing 100m, then he’d be exhausted by 200m. A similar thing occurred to AJ at the end of the fifth round of his fight against Klitschko.

Simply put: the reason why AJ ran out of gas pretty early against Klitschko, was because: he was far too heavy; he’s inexperienced and didn’t manage his stamina very well; and also partly due to his poor strategy, by using 100% of his energy trying to force a stoppage.

Makes sense to me. The Wlad fight was a great learning experience for AJ and I expect him to do much better in the future, whether that be in a rematch with Wlad, against Pulev or anyone else he chooses to face. IMO Joshua is clearly the future face of the HW division.

[Kalan]

Kalan > Good analysis of AJ, who has had phenomenal success for a guy whose been pro for such a short time, but I have a hunch he would receive Ali's advice more readily than you did.

He would DEFINITELY LISTEN to Laila's advice... Then he would DISMISS it. He's already doing all the old school conditioning and endurance work that she's recommending and he would maintain his strength regimen because it's paid major dividends.. Many trainers, coaches, and boxers aren't fully knowledgeable about the value of strength training.. The stronger you are, the lighter the gloves feel -- and the harder you can throw with less effort.. Given the same skill-sets, athleticism, and conditioning, a bigger, stronger man is going to wear down a smaller, lighter, weaker man and break him down over 12 rounds..

All I heard was Klitschko needed to extend the fight into the championship rounds.. I was pretty sure AJ would finish stronger if the fight went 12 because he was physically bigger and stronger for this fight.. Klitschko has a vast experience advantage -- but that's of little avail when you're wearing down because a physically stronger, fresher, more durable man is driving you all over the ring and punching you out.

[Kalan]

1) AJ had unnecessarily gained weight due to only competing in two fights over ten months

2) Joshua is still a novice, which means his stamina management was poor

3) Anthony’s naivety and poor strategy compelled him to “put all of his eggs into one basket”, by going for broke in the fifth round in a desperate attempt to stop his Ukrainian foe, but he didn’t expect Klitschko to withstand the onslaught and return fire with equal venom in the very next round ...

... Mo Farrah is possibly the world’s best 10K runner in athletics, but if he tried to run that distance at full pelt, much akin to Usain Bolt doing 100m, then he’d be exhausted by 200m. A similar thing occurred to AJ at the end of the fifth round of his fight against Klitschko.

Simply put: the reason why AJ ran out of gas pretty early against Klitschko, was because: he was far too heavy; he’s inexperienced and didn’t manage his stamina very well; and also partly due to his poor strategy, by using 100% of his energy trying to force a stoppage.

You're wrong on all counts.. AJ came in at just the right weight.. Klitschko is a very big, tall, and powerful man.. Although Klitschko weighed in lighter than expected AJ can't predict what WK is going to do.. If Wlad came in very big and powerful AJ wanted to be able to match him in strength.

Joshua's stamina management was very good. It was right to go for the KO in the 5th because he almost won the fight right there.. He didn't use up 100% of his energy, he still held plenty in reserve.. You're going to be momentarily gassed in a fight now and then. It's going to happen. When Klitschko nailed AJ in the 6th, Josh had to switch hats.. He had to finesse a great finisher. He had to survive against a caliber of opponent he never fought before..

AJ defended well and didn't get nailed with another threatening blow. He slipped and ducked punches well. He was no Pulev who walked right into massive shots repeatedly and knocked himself out. AJ cleared his head, recovered his wind, and started to attack again in the 9th. In the 11th he turned it WAY up.. He drove Wladimir around the ring with a withering fusillade of head and body shots from every angle and finished him off... Brilliant.

[Stuarty]

I agree. The main thing I like about AJ is he has grit and can scrap it out. He gets a lot of stick but he can go to the well. There's a few amateur fights where he's dug it out as well. That could be so much more of an asset if he was to drop some muscle and work on his conditioning.

[candyslim]

It's funny how AJ going for broke in the 5th very nearly cost him the fight.

Yet Klitschko's failure to go for broke in the 6th almost certainly did cost him the fight (whether that be because he wouldn't or he couldn't)

There is no paradox here. As has been pointed out already, whether it's individuals in a ring or armies in the field, it's about recognizing when your opponent is sufficiently weakened that a go for broke assault is sure to crush him and then to carry that out swiftly and effectively. Get it wrong and you can get Joshua's fifth round or even Pickett's charge.

I'm sure this just one of the many valuable lessons that AJ will have absorbed from this fight. When I try to imagine how the perfect Klitschko defense for Joshua in terms of everything: gaining valuable experience, self-knowledge, providing excitement and spectacle, coming through adversity from the brink, getting the rounds under the belt, taking a fearsome puncher's best shot and getting up, using up all your fuel by spending too long on afterburners, having to grit your teeth and survive unarmed while your batteries recharge, and finally winning by late stoppage thereby retaining your unbeaten record and 100% stoppage record, and adding to your one belt ... I really don't think it could have gone any better if he'd written the script.

[Enlightened-One]

There’s absolutely eff all wrong with Anthony Joshua’s stamina/conditioning!

There are people that frequent this forum that don’t truly understand the sport of boxing and have never competed in it, so they make assumptions based on symptoms rather than considering or researching the actual root causes.

The Brit is possibly one of the most athletically-gifted 250lb-ers to have ever attained world-rated top-tier status… so what went wrong with AJ's stamina against Klitschko?

1) AJ had unnecessarily gained weight due to only competing in two fights over ten months

2) Joshua is still a novice, which means his stamina management was poor

3) Anthony’s naivety and poor strategy compelled him to “put all of his eggs into one basket”, by going for broke in the fifth round in a desperate attempt to stop his Ukrainian foe, but he didn’t expect Klitschko to withstand the onslaught and return fire with equal venom in the very next round

AJ has already stated that he’s learned an awful lot in facing Wladimir and he conceded that he now appreciates the reason why Robert McCracken criticised his weight so aggressively when he entered training camp for his bout against Klitschko. Instead of taking a long break after his most recent fight against the Ukrainian Hall-of-Famer, he pretty much immediately returned to the gym in a bid to lose weight.

The Brit has already stated that he will adopt a different mind-set in the rematch by taking fewer unnecessary risks, such as refraining from recklessly and impulsively trying to force a premature stoppage of his opponent when they don’t appear to be in distress (i.e. Klitschko was in his comfort zone at the time when AJ went for broke in the fifth round of their fight). So AJ will now only try to “close the show” when he recognises that his opponent is in trouble.

To illustrate my theory with an analogy…

Mo Farrah is possibly the world’s best 10K runner in athletics, but if he tried to run that distance at full pelt, much akin to Usain Bolt doing 100m, then he’d be exhausted by 200m. A similar thing occurred to AJ at the end of the fifth round of his fight against Klitschko.

Simply put: the reason why AJ ran out of gas pretty early against Klitschko, was because: he was far too heavy; he’s inexperienced and didn’t manage his stamina very well; and also partly due to his poor strategy, by using 100% of his energy trying to force a stoppage.

There's nothing "funny" about it at all...

Joshua went for broke against Klitschko from the very start of the fifth round, at a time when Wladimir was clearly comfortable and holding his own against the you champ.

When Klitschko tried to force a stoppage during the sixth round, it was because Joshua was clearly fatigued and very vulnerable.

I think you should re-evaluate your comments about this matter in light of what had actually transpired.

[candyslim]

No need to re-evaluate my comments at all as I'm sure you'd appreciate had you read them properly before launching into your trademark arrogant dismissal :

What is "funny" is that Joshua going for broke almost cost him the fight, whereas Klitschko's failure to go for broke in the 6th almost certainly cost him the fight. On the face of it that seems like a paradox, no?

I went on to explain that there was nothing actually funny or paradoxical at al,l because it's all a question of knowing when and when not to unleash your intended final assault.

Of course Klitschko launched his assault in the 6th when Joshua was tired and vulnerable, but it was unsuccessful because he did not go for broke when Joshua was there for the taking. That could be because Klitschko's naturally cautious persona meant that he did not want to fully commit his reserves of energy in pursuit of the stoppage in case he was unsuccessful as Joshua had been (whether he wouldn't) or maybe at 41 years of age and having taken quite a shellacking himself in the previous round, he didn't have sufficient strength / energy to finish the job i.e. (whether he couldn't). The point being that Joshua should not have survived the round.

If you still think I need to re-evaluate my comments ... I'm listening

[Kalan]

No need to re-evaluate my comments at all as I'm sure you'd appreciate had you read them properly before launching into your trademark arrogant dismissal :

What is "funny" is that Joshua going for broke almost cost him the fight, whereas Klitschko's failure to go for broke in the 6th almost certainly cost him the fight. On the face of it that seems like a paradox, no?

I went on to explain that there was nothing actually funny or paradoxical at al,l because it's all a question of knowing when and when not to unleash your intended final assault.

I think you're starting to get it actually... Joshua went for the finish because he had Wladimir down and hurt in the 5th round... Is there a better opportunity to go for the finish??? ... Joshua tried to keep Wladimir on the hook and stop him early... but the clever veteran escaped because 1. it was still early in the fight and he was still fresh... 2. because of his vast experience... and 3. because he knows everything Joshua likes to throw from studying him for a long time.

Wlad set AJ up for that right by throwing jabs that AJ expertly slipped -- and ripping a right straight in when AJ was looking for another jab... Klitschko knocked out a lot of guys who had never been knocked out before by anyone... He has a deep bag of tricks, but couldn't add Joshua to the list because 1. it was still early in the fight and AJ was still fresh... 2. Joshua is an excellent defender who blocks, parries, slips, ducks, and rolls punches with the best of them... 3. AJ was talking trash to Klitschko. Wlad has heard tons of trash talk before but didn't expect it from AJ, who he likes a lot... 4. AJ lacks experience and rounds, but he studied everything Wlad throws and rarely got fooled by any of it.

As the fight surged on at a hard pace Joshua started to take the lead again... He threw punches in bunches and broke Klitschko down... He had him about ready to go in the 10th and tore into Wladimir in the 11th... There was no escaping this time no matter the vast resources Klitschko had to call on.

[Kalan]

I agree. The main thing I like about AJ is he has grit and can scrap it out. He gets a lot of stick but he can go to the well. There's a few amateur fights where he's dug it out as well. That could be so much more of an asset if he was to drop some muscle and work on his conditioning.

AJ spends more time working on conditioning than strength... If he weighed in at 240 and Wladimir came in at 250 -- Joshua may have been polished off.

That's a 20-pound switcheroo you don't want.. You're not sacrificing speed for strength.. As you get stronger you get faster if you're rock solid and flexible.

[Stuarty]

I agree. The main thing I like about AJ is he has grit and can scrap it out. He gets a lot of stick but he can go to the well. There's a few amateur fights where he's dug it out as well. That could be so much more of an asset if he was to drop some muscle and work on his conditioning.

AJ spends more time working on conditioning than strength... If he weighed in at 240 and Wladimir came in at 250 -- Joshua may have been polished off.

That's a 20-pound switcheroo you don't want.. You're not sacrificing speed for strength.. As you get stronger you get faster if you're rock solid and flexible.

I thought he looked a lot slower against Wlad than we're used to seeing him? I watched the highlights again earlier today. He took some cracking shots in that fight man! So did Wlad!

[candyslim]

What's your take on why Klitschko didn't go for broke in the 6th - too cautious or too exhausted?

In case anyone is thinking "but Klitschko did go for broke in the 6th", no he didn't. I say that because if he had done, he would either have stopped Joshua, possibly but unlikely been stopped himself, or ended the round with both of them out on their feet, neither having anything further to give at least not for the rest of that round, maybe until the 9th when the younger man was good to go again.

[Kalan]

Klitschko went for the finish... He did all he could do... AJ is just too good for him.

And Joshua was just as fast as ever -- if not faster... But he was fighting a fast Heavyweight... You're used to seeing him fight snail slow guys.

I thought the muscle quality was very good -- but not perfect... Maybe 248 would have been ideal, but the idea was not to let Wladimir surprise him with a big weight advantage... He's not the boss in experience, knowledge, and mastery... He was the boss on size, strength, and punching power.

It's been proven many times that size and strength can overpower speed and finesse -- as long as you have an appreciable amount of skill and smarts going.

[asdfjkl]

I wonder who Takam is going to fight 23 june, Duhaupas?

[candyslim]

Now that would be a good fight anyway but given that they're the best two heavies in France it makes a lot of sense. They'd both murder their national champion who I believe is the oft beaten Cyrille Leonet ... whoops, straying a little off-topic here

[Enlightened-One]

No need to re-evaluate my comments at all as I'm sure you'd appreciate had you read them properly before launching into your trademark arrogant dismissal :

What is "funny" is that Joshua going for broke almost cost him the fight, whereas Klitschko's failure to go for broke in the 6th almost certainly cost him the fight. On the face of it that seems like a paradox, no?

I went on to explain that there was nothing actually funny or paradoxical at al,l because it's all a question of knowing when and when not to unleash your intended final assault.

I think you're starting to get it actually... Joshua went for the finish because he had Wladimir down and hurt in the 5th round... Is there a better opportunity to go for the finish??? ...

Joshua went for the finish from the very start of the fifth round, at a time when Klitschko hadn't previously shown any difficulties dealing with AJ.

Wladimir only got decked because of the onslaught that he had to endure during the fifth round. Klitschko would not have been floored if the bout continued the way it had done during the previous four rounds.

There's no point in guessing your opinion... use your fûckîng eyeballs and watch the fight again!

Watch the fûckîng fight and revise your opinion! Either that or don't comment on things you've never seen.