Anthony Joshua is no more stiff and robotic than Wlad

[Shrap]

I hear people saying this kid is robotic and stiff. He's 6'6 240+ pounds. Him trying to be as agile as Mike Tyson would be ******. I just rewatched Klitschko vs Pulev and Wlad is not close to having great agility or flexibility.

Yeah, we all know how that didn't work out for the even larger Tyson Fury.

Joshua is pretty cautious which isn't bad, but he also has too much muscle mass which slows him down and hurts him stamina.

[Tom Cruise]

Slow feet arent the killer in HW division that it is lower down though. He just needs to be smart with it. Keep good distance and focus on timing and setting traps.

Im just not sure he is experienced enough at this stage to get away with it

[KillaCamNZ]

I don't agree with him lacking footwork. Elaborate?

It's all perception and opinion, but I feel like AJ is way too cemented to the ground. He's so used to running over the top of people, that he's never quite developed his angles - and in turn, finds himself standing in front of fighters punching from a square stance.

He's so ridiculously big and powerful, his punching is all coming from his top half, and while it's worked against the B-grade (probably being generous) fighters he's gone up against so far, quality opposition won't be so easy to run over. Speed kills - and even an overweight and dreadfully slow Whyte managed to rock him.

AJ is a phenomenal talent, no doubt about it. So exciting to watch. But there's definite bust potential there.

[The plunger man]

Well we saw how quickly Joshua caught up with Johnson ...a fighter who has never been stopped...and went the distance with the daddy klitchcko and Tyson fury.....you don't need Muhammad Ali footwork when you have good timing and speed.....punch selection and timing are just as important as fast feet.....Joshua's size can be decieving when your looking at his footwork....Joshua has caught up and finished every fighter that he's faced.....timing and power is the most important thing in heavyweight boxing

[deathofaclown]

He is very stiff and has slow legs for a guy in his mid 20's. Very flat footed.

Wlad was deceptively agile and quick and not flat footed at all. Look at his fight with Haye and others, he had some pretty quick footwork. He's not dancing of course, but the way he takes steps back just out of range and his movement is/was very intelligent and fluid. I actually think that's where a lot of fighters such as Haye got a surprise. They probably got in thinking he was a big robot and realised he's actually a fair bit quicker and agile than they expected.

[Earl-Hickey]

250lb is too heavy for him he should be 235-240 but most of these guys like lewis, Wlad etc had a couple of losses before they learned and became what they are, maybe the same for Joshua.

Now wilder on the other hand he's different, that guy came out of the womb ready to be a world champion. He has it all power speed skill the total package

Wilder is best champ since evander by a mile

[Earl-Hickey]

It's all perception and opinion, but I feel like AJ is way too cemented to the ground. He's so used to running over the top of people, that he's never quite developed his angles - and in turn, finds himself standing in front of fighters punching from a square stance.

He's so ridiculously big and powerful, his punching is all coming from his top half, and while it's worked against the B-grade (probably being generous) fighters he's gone up against so far, quality opposition won't be so easy to run over. Speed kills - and even an overweight and dreadfully slow Whyte managed to rock him.

AJ is a phenomenal talent, no doubt about it. So exciting to watch. But there's definite bust potential there.

Angles is what needs working on. He did look one dimensional against breazele but to be frank that one dimension is going to be more than enough against most everyone

Behind the scenes joshua is trained by Robert McCracken and you can see some stylistic similarities to the approach carl froch used

I think him and parker are in the same boat in that a loss may be good to wake them up and make changes

[KillaCamNZ]

Angles is what needs working on. He did look one dimensional against breazele but to be frank that one dimension is going to be more than enough against most everyone

Behind the scenes joshua is trained by Robert McCracken and you can see some stylistic similarities to the approach carl froch used

I think him and parker are in the same boat in that a loss may be good to wake them up and make changes

Definitely agreeing with you on a lot of points there.

Admittedly, Breazele was such a powder puff - AJ didn't need to be technically brilliant to finish him off. He just needed to bully him, and did exactly that.

A loss for either Parker or AJ wouldn't be the end of the world, definitely. Both are going to go far in this sport.

[LacedUp]

prime wlad is definitely more athletic than aj, i don't know what these guys are smoking.

More athletic?

Than AJ? The guy who beat an olympic runner in a 100 meter dash? The guy who plays basketball, football etc? Come on now.

Wlad was a little looser when he was younger because he didn't have as much muscle then. When he was 220-230 he was pretty loose, not exactly smooth, but more so than now.

There's not a big difference between Wlad and AJ in terms of stiffness. But AJ is definitely a better athlete than Wlad.

[juggernaut666]

There seems to be the daily confusion on here with Joshua that he is not fleet footed and is extremely stiff. He's not going to run around the ring in circles when he can dodge in and out and plant his feet when hes ready to end fights ,or waste energy with unecessary movements. People talk about his wind yet Parker was breathing heavy for air by round 3 his last fight for really no reason. It takes more energy and overall shape to carry 250 ,the fact hes already been 7 rounds twice and had good punch out put should erase all the questions of if hes carrying to much muscle. Punching power and timing is what is more important today not being slightly faster, the bigger more polished guy will have the advantage today...

IF Joshua was slow ( he's NOT ) then he would be more in lines of Frank Bruno, however his very quick reflexes is what sets him apart ,not needing to circle jerk and avoid head on collisions with his opposition, he can practically do whatever he likes in the ring. Id like to see someone try and run around him in the ring Joshua has more than the ability to chase down and cut the ring off against anybody,hes just to athletic.

Wlad is also VERY light footed when he decides to move,hes not aggressive if he were he would be also accused of being flat footed ( which he is and its idiotic ) with no footwork .When you are aggressive theres no reason to jump around or play counter puncher going backwards.somehow its a lable for having no footwork if you don't need to use much movement?