Should AJ stick to his new body?

[Winter king]

This time being lighter worked for AJ but in his element AJ used his strength very well to control his opponents. His edge against the top tier is in the inside where the strength difference comes out the most.
So what do you guys think? Am I right or an idiot?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Depends who he's fighting.

[joshj909]

Depends who he's fighting.

This is it really. He was way too slow against a fighter with quick hands the first time. His overpowering size and power has helped him in other fights though.

I imagine he'll put on a few pounds for Pulev but the real question will come with Usyk. Usyk will be faster and most people will agree has better boxing skills even if AJ comes in light. So does he risk coming in big and overpowering him or trying to play him at his own game and come on light? Tough call if i'm his trainer.

[Bard of Boxrec]

I don’t see how it can hurt him at all to stay this size. Do people think AJ’s power suffers if he’s lighter? I don’t.

If he bulks up again, good luck cutting the weight as an older fighter if another Ruiz 2 type challenge comes along.

[Noxy]

Aye, he seemed comfortable enough.

[Bard of Boxrec]

Depends who he's fighting.

This is it really. He was way too slow against a fighter with quick hands the first time. His overpowering size and power has helped him in other fights though.

I imagine he'll put on a few pounds for Pulev but the real question will come with Usyk. Usyk will be faster and most people will agree has better boxing skills even if AJ comes in light. So does he risk coming in big and overpowering him or trying to play him at his own game and come on light? Tough call if i'm his trainer.

That’s the thing though, he’ll still have all the power he needs coming in light. Usyk is a slapping cruiserweight, AJ will walk through him whether he’s 237 or 257.

[Verdi]

Depends who he's fighting.

This is it really. He was way too slow against a fighter with quick hands the first time. His overpowering size and power has helped him in other fights though.

I imagine he'll put on a few pounds for Pulev but the real question will come with Usyk. Usyk will be faster and most people will agree has better boxing skills even if AJ comes in light. So does he risk coming in big and overpowering him or trying to play him at his own game and come on light? Tough call if i'm his trainer.

I don't think the way he boxed against Ruiz would work against Usyk. Usyk is too quick footed for AJ to box on the backfoot. I think he'd be better off pressure fighting and roughing him up at closer range.

[Syntax Error]

I think Joshua has had his Hector Camacho moment & will probably stick to that style in future fights.

He'll certainly needs to fight like that against Wilder, otherwise Deontay will put his head into orbit.

He might be able to revert to type against Fury or Usyk, as they are seasoned & pure boxers, but there is the possibility he could be chasing shadows against them if he did revert to type.

[Enlightened-One]

If we’re assuming the Takam bout is AJ’s physically strongest weight, then it’s impossible for his to gain about 8KG of pure muscle during the course of a single training camp.

If Joshua is a clean fighter, it should theoretically take him more than a year to gain that sort of muscle.

So I’m guessing AJ might be a tad gun-shy and will likely remain at his current weight, so he has the physical capability to get on his bike should he experience challenging moments during future bouts.

The ability to adapt and have a plan B is very important.

[gilgamesh]

Yes, leaner muscle is almost always better than a lot of muscle on a boxer.

[snake33]

Yes, stay lean. And take the Usyk fight. It will be an easy win.
Pulev too but he'll likely dance him around for 12.

[oogiebe]

Not sure what he had to go through to get his weight down. If it wasn't overly difficult, then I like him at this weight, so long as he gets a bit more assertive next time out. If he can retain the fluidity and quickness he had in Ruiz II as well as get back his confidence to set his feet and throw, he may well end up number one at HW.

[DrDuke]

Definitely. His extra muscles were a drawback. Now he is a more fluid and mobile boxer.