Strange goings on

[Nondescript]

In the corner between rounds last night he said to McCracken ‘why am I feeling like this’?

Bruno was commenting on that-

Check out @frankbrunoboxer’s Tweet:

[Covfefe]

After which round?

I couldn’t tell you without looking back. I saw it on the sky coverage.

[ewenhay]

One thing I will say- I don't think Joshua ever really wanted to fight in the states. He always has seemed at his happiest, in his comfort zone fighting in the UK.

I feel like he only really did it as a favour to Hearn because of what Eddie is trying to do with DAZN.

You're a pretty fragile champion though if you can't go away from home and win against a handpicked opponent

[Covfefe]

Bruno was commenting on that-

Check out @frankbrunoboxer’s Tweet:

I posted about it last night but no one else mentioned it. Struck me as really odd at the time.

[Coco]

In the corner between rounds last night he said to McCracken ‘why am I feeling like this’?

It was because he had been punched in the head

[ewenhay]

It was because he had been punched in the head

Yeah exactly. Enough of the excuses and post fight spin.

[Covfefe]

It was because he had been punched in the head

You don’t think he’s been punched in the head and hurt before cause we’ve seen it happen in his career, and that’s and unusual response for a boxer.

[Nondescript]

I posted about it last night but no one else mentioned it. Struck me as really odd at the time.

Yeah I saw you say it. When I watched the replay I missed it, but Joshuas body language from the beginning just seemed off to me.

He looked super tentative compared to usual and wasn't reacting well when he got hit at all.

He looked like a washed up figher, at the end of his career who doesn't really wanna be there.

[Covfefe]

Yeah exactly. Enough of the excuses and post fight spin.

Excuse? How is it an excuse.

All I said is it was something that struck me as odd.

[ewenhay]

Excuse? How is it an excuse.

All I said is it was something that struck me as odd.

I wasn't referring to you directly.

It's inevitable that people will look for excuses though after the fight. It has always been this way in boxing. They've got to salvage the wreckage and attempt to sell the next fight.

[Coco]

You don’t think he’s been punched in the head and hurt before cause we’ve seen it happen in his career, and that’s and unusual response for a boxer.

The original punch which caught him on the top of the head disturbs your equilibrium and takes a good while to recover from.
Some fighters never have to hold this shot and fore most it will only happen a few times in your career.
I'm guessing it was Joshua's first time.

[cutsman]

No idea if there's any truth to these tweets or if they have any actual knowledge of the situation but this tweet I saw was interesting

Check out @GoonersUnited’s Tweet:

I noticed this whilst watching the fight. Joshua’s Dad seemed to be Very unhappy in the ring after the fight. Wouldn’t look at his son in the eye when they were having a ‘discussion’. At the time I didn’t know it was his Dad and was thinking wow he seems very unhappy

[bigjack]

I couldn’t tell you without looking back. I saw it on the sky coverage.

BBC said it was between 6 and 7,still buzzed from the 3rd probably

[Nondescript]

I wasn't referring to you directly.

It's inevitable that people will look for excuses though after the fight. It has always been this way in boxing. They've got to salvage the wreckage and attempt to sell the next fight.

To be fair though, Joshua has been hit harder by bigger punching fighters and came through it. Last night it looked like he just didn't wanna know.

The right hand he took off of Klitschko was an absolute beast of a shot, but yet he still dragged himself up to win.

[ewenhay]

To be fair though, Joshua has been hit harder by bigger punching fighters and came through it. Last night it looked like he just didn't wanna know.

The right hand he took off of Klitschko was an absolute beast of a shot, but yet he still dragged himself up to win.

Yeah he didn't seem as hungry as in that fight. Maybe Henry is right, maybe the pressure has got to him.

Often it's easier trying to achieve something you don't have than it is to keep hold of something you're scared to lose. It's a different mindset.

[HomicideHenry]

Where you get hit matters more. He got hit flush in the temple many times, as well as to the body when he wasn't expecting it. He got swarmed, got off balance. It's the shots you don't see that hurts you most.

[Datsue]

I posted about it last night but no one else mentioned it. Struck me as really odd at the time.

Was after the 6th iirc.

[Covfefe]

Where you get hit matters more. He got hit flush in the temple many times, as well as to the body when he wasn't expecting it. He got swarmed, got off balance. It's the shots you don't see that hurts you most.

Any more cliches?

[HomicideHenry]

Any more cliches?

Nah

I just think fatboy had more pop in his punches than people are giving him credit for. He was the heavier & faster man in there.

Joshua looked like Boris Karloff in The Mummy and couldn't keep him off. His "one punch power" failed him because Ruiz could take it and unlike Klitschko came forward instead of backing off.

But yes, I do think that Joshua just isn't a happy person. He gives the impression of a man whose forced to smile and pretend all is well when he's upset. Just too much pressure carrying the weight of Hearn's promotion. The fire is gone. He doesn't have it in the eyes like he used to.

[Datsue]

Well, there's rumours flying around social meedja that he was ill the week of the fight & even one that he got KO'd in sparring & they hushed it up (!). Obviously, people make shite up & then it spreads & there's no confirmation or anything.

To be honest, I couldn't believe it when he was asking McCracken "What's he gonna do this round?" That was just bizarre (4th or so, I think).

[keirw]

It was weird seeing him smile and wink at the crowd everytime he got caught.

Hearing him talk back at Mckracken was a bit odd also.

But it was his performance during the fight that I found most shocking,

Joshua was always beatable and Ruiz is a decent fighter but the man who won a war against Wlad, came from behind vs Povetkin and outboxed Parker should at least be able to last the distance with Ruiz.

He seemed to have no pop, no range control and no punch resistance. Anyone making out he is/was always like that are talking nonsense.

[greg]

I've not followed the whole thread but let me assume that AJ has never boxed outside his backyard...boxing outside his "comfort zone" could have surely affected him..

[revporl]

Yeah I didn't think that AJ looked very well when he came in the ring. He looked a bit tired and off. Also, as others have said, he didn't seem particularly arsed about losing, and after the second knockdown he seemed like he wanted to be out of there but he didn't seem distressed at all.

In a weird way, maybe losing will actually open up the bigger fights for him, like Fury or Wilder. In the longer term this may work in his favour and realises that. It's all I can think of.

[coneye]

Would anybody like to name a boxer in the top ten who you think couldn't beat Ruiz?

A.J

[HomicideHenry]

I wouldn't say it's necessarily nonsense.

Wladimir was inactive and older. The fact that it was so brutal is telling. Parker basically was being effed around by the referee in there. Povetkin was 39 and hadn't been the same guy since being busted for PEDs.

I think all telltale signs were there but people got caught up in the "magic" of it all. Joshua, in many ways, is the first Instagram boxer. A social media phenomenon with the unrealistic body image, etc.

But I do think comparisons to someone like Price are somewhat valid. I remember before the Thompson fight I said he'd lose. People thought I was crazy. But I insisted, "If Matt Skelton an old man can momentarily hurt him, then Thompson is going to school him like Jack Johnson."

It's somewhat the same thing with AJ. He was just positioned better than anyone else I've ever seen in heavyweight history. He had all the breaks. He had everything his way.

Take that away from him--- he was an accident waiting to happen. And I know many won't accept it. Once they're back in England they'll say that he was sick, that he's been having issues mentally, etc--- and people will believe it, just like people wanted to believe Price losing to Thompson was a fluke and eagerly awaited the rematch only to be heartbroken again.

These promoters, making it impossible for the top guys to really fight each other often, keeping themselves sharp and getting better--- instead has made a division of men who have been carried & protected. This is what happens when it's all business and not enough about the fighting.