BoxRec

Yeah I'm thinking WK has to come and actually box and fight more here

Them grab and hold tactics aren't going to work on Josh, he won't be able to bully Josh like that

WK needs to come in that ring with a healthy dose of spite, grit and a clever thought out gameplan

Wlad doesn't grapple as an offence. He does it purely to nullify the inside work of shorter, inside fighters. The extreme of this, I think, was against Povetkin - where IMO he should have had a couple of points off. If a fighter wants to box or trade at medium to long range, then Wlad won't attempt to grapple unless he gets hurt, because he generally has the upper hand at that range.

If Joshua gets 'close' then Wlad will probably try to grapple. If Joshua wants to try and push Wlad off or struggle out of the clinch to land something then he's going to find himself frustrated and expending valuable energy he can't afford to lose.

I've seen none of the speed, head movement and boxing skills from AJ that a lot on here are claiming. I've seen a guy who plods forward in straight lines, doesn't move his head and was getting out-jabbed by an injured, shorter, equally inexperienced Dillian Whyte.

I wasn't mesmerised by his padwork with Rob McCracken last week either. One/Two power punches every 5-10 seconds, with McCracken having to tell him to relax repeatedly.

If Klitschko has anything left and doesn't do anything stupid, then he will be snapping Joshua's head back at will with his jab. If i'm wrong, and AJ shows everyone that he ticks all the boxes I've mentioned, then I'll happily hold my hands up to admit I was wrong.

Benelio wrote:Wlad doesn't grapple as an offence. He does it purely to nullify the inside work of shorter, inside fighters. The extreme of this, I think, was against Povetkin - where IMO he should have had a couple of points off. If a fighter wants to box or trade at medium to long range, then Wlad won't attempt to grapple unless he gets hurt, because he generally has the upper hand at that range.

If Joshua gets 'close' then Wlad will probably try to grapple. If Joshua wants to try and push Wlad off or struggle out of the clinch to land something then he's going to find himself frustrated and expending valuable energy he can't afford to lose.

I've seen none of the speed, head movement and boxing skills from AJ that a lot on here are claiming. I've seen a guy who plods forward in straight lines, doesn't move his head and was getting out-jabbed by an injured, shorter, equally inexperienced Dillian Whyte.

I wasn't mesmerised by his padwork with Rob McCracken last week either. One/Two power punches every 5-10 seconds, with McCracken having to tell him to relax repeatedly.

If Klitschko has anything left and doesn't do anything stupid, then he will be snapping Joshua's head back at will with his jab. If i'm wrong, and AJ shows everyone that he ticks all the boxes I've mentioned, then I'll happily hold my hands up to admit I was wrong.

Good post there

I'm hoping WK has enough left to not allow Josh to have the beating of him

And we are not long away from finding out. Re McCracken training vid, I think Josh looks like he has improved a bit in them videos, particularly lighter on his feet and he does look a bit faster, I have admitted on here and other places that he looks like he has improved, but still not anything at all to get carried away about, certainly not "blistering" hand speed.

I agree with your comments about straight lines and lack of head movement and his jab being second best, he did look a bit sharp on iFL TV but lets see can he bring this into the ring with him

Josh is a long way off from being the great that some believe he already is, and if I'm wrong about him I too will admit it

It's entirely possible Vlad will have one of his very rare "fragile" nights like against Sanders & Brewster and lack of ring activity is a concern but I still think has too much experience and physical ability for Joshua at the moment because of the lack of tough fights & quality of opponents AJ has faced.

The other mark against Vlad is I would not expect him to get some of the outrageous favours the ref's have obliged him with outside of the UK.

The thing i was impressed with from that little clip of AJ with rob was the hand speed and how quick he follows the jab up.

A few fighters have all said that AJ is a simple straight line fighter but they get shocked by his handspeed and how quick that 2nd punch lands.

TheLeprechaun wrote:Please use shorter sentences people. Very hard to read some posts.

I thought Wlad, now I think Joshua. Wlad will try outbox him but he will have trouble with Joshua's long 1-2s and he won't be able to clinch

This.

I can make an overweight 80 year old woman look good on the pads ,or a 15 year old novice , its easy , just find there range for them , and slap down on the pad to make a noise get them to hit a moving target , now thats a different story

I don't think we should take too much away from the IFL pads/bag work, or even the open public workout for that matter. It's what you do with a live opponent in front of you.

I remember watching the AJ/Martin public workouts, and commenting on how focused and sharp Martin looked in comparison to Joshua. At the end of the day, one froze when in front of the other, and the other went to work.

Joshua is very good at two things, and that is clipping his opponent, and avoiding punches coming the other way. You may well reference the lack of head movement, or the straight line offensive style, but you can not take away from the facts that whatever Joshua is doing, he is doing well. I don't care who your opponents are, if you go 18 fights, three of which were world heavyweight fights, and do not even get your whiskers brushed, you're doing something right.

I don't know what the formula is using to bring so much easy success, but I can suggest a few things;

• -> AJ catches his opponents out with his speed
  -> AJ relies heavily on the counter - he don't go chasing his opponents, he stalks and waits for them to prob a lazy jab out
  -> When his opponents feel his power, even on the gloves, they become tentative
  -> He keeps a continuous good centre of balance and high defensive guard - a pretty tight defence alround

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Cl6QzEomrg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WHinyjRwr1E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWK3t5Gixdc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LYOJC5Jw84

WK is definitely mentally in the right place for this fight

Anyone else notice how Robert McCracken always looks like he doesn't give a sh*t whilst doing pads, completely straight faced as if he can't really be bothered to be there

Cracking trainer though is Rob

Oiky wrote:WK is definitely mentally in the right place for this fight

Anyone else notice how Robert McCracken always looks like he doesn't give a sh*t whilst doing pads, completely straight faced as if he can't really be bothered to be there

Cracking trainer though is Rob

It's very smart body language and general non-verbal communication.

When he's giving advice in the corner he's doing it in that same everyday calm voice.

It's telling the fighter to be cool this is just what we do. Everything very matter of fact, this is just what we do. He don't let emotion enter his voice.

I think it gives his corner work tremendous authority and effect on the fighters. in terms of their confidence in instructions.

I would want exactly that atmosphere around my training, the more I see of this bloke the more I like him. And he manages, also, with his matter of fact style, to almost NEVER make himself part of the story as well.

Think of what McCracken has achieved as a trainer. Imagine if certain other trainers had achieved that much, how much they would have been part of the story,like a Booth or Tesco Joe. McCracken is a fricken dude i reckon he's the man.

His coolness and the general air of calmness he exudes if his fighter has had an iffy round is a huge asset to the fighter in those situations, is what I am saying

Counter-puncher wrote:His coolness and the general air of calmness he exudes if his fighter has had an iffy round is a huge asset to the fighter in those situations, is what I am saying

Yeah I get what you are saying mate

I didn't mean that as a dig at McCracken, just having a laugh, he is clearly a top, top trainer

But I do agree with your points that his style is very refreshing and comfortable and a great asset to a fighter, and I think he is leagues above Joe G and the like

Its also very confident to carry yourself the way McCracken does

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzbOajhPZJ0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjSs38za0ME
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtae2ftWYNA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dqti1K7wudM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wYEuEAMW94
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnEQ9-FBrbA

Joshua still looking super respectful and almost subservient in the head to head.
Klitschko looks very confident...

For what it's worth, I thought AJ looked pretty nervous while Klitschko looked very calm and confident.

For what it's worth...

AJ spot-game up there with the definitely clean Hughie Fury.

See who Katie Taylor is fighting? Hot as fornicate

Counter-puncher wrote:His coolness and the general air of calmness he exudes if his fighter has had an iffy round is a huge asset to the fighter in those situations, is what I am saying

If AJ is dragged into deep waters robs calmness will have the right affect on him. His corner work is superb.

For AJ i think he is the perfect guy to guide him through.

My head says Joshua, but my heart is well and truly saying Klitschko

It's a fight where any outcome wouldn't overly shock me, be it a stunning early finish or a boring twelve round chess match.

It's also a fight where we could get a lot of questions answered. Can Joshua take a shot? Can he go the distance? Does Wlad have anything left?

I wasn't overly looking forward too it, as I'm not one for buying into the hype usually. But the closer the fight gets, the more I'm getting drawn to it.

Stuffs wrote:

AJ spot-game up there with the definitely clean Hughie Fury.

Are you on crack? He's got a few spots; Hughie looks like a pizza that's been left out in the rain.

darkstar81 wrote:See who Katie Taylor is fighting? Hot as eff

An ex Scarborough student. Fought amateur in Scarborough too i think.

darkstar81 wrote:See who Katie Taylor is fighting? Hot as eff

She looks better when she's not wearing the corns - but yes, she'd put together very well.