Comments Thread For: Joshua: Take Away Wilder's Right Hand, Take Away His Confidence

[Just looking]

I'm not particularly a Joshua fan or a Wilder fan, but I defend both of them a lot on these forums because people seem to think that a fighter has to be either near-perfect or terrible.

Wilder and Joshua do a lot of things well. Whilst Wilder has a lot of little technical flaws, his natural talents are very underrated and people make out that he's some no-skilled bum with 40 KOs.

Joshua is the opposite, in my opinion. His natural talents are overrated, particularly with his stamina issues, but people who **** on his technical skills don't really know what they're talking about in my opinion, especially when you consider that Joshua had a very successful amateur career. Joshua has a very good jab. It's heavy and fast. He should thrown more doubles and triples, but to say that his jab is just a range finder is clearly wrong. Look at what he did to Brazeale.

I actually like both fighters for different reasons, they each have significant strengths and minor weaknesses.

Don't get me wrong, Joshua is very sharp and has a good timing for counters and it's more than enough against smaller opponents who he can bully around. But his limitations in range, footwork, head movement and rhytim will be bad for him against the big ones and I just can't get over it

[sotgoda]

Look at my reds, I don't care anymore, but thanks. The thing is, Wilder always adapt to his opponents, literally all his wins since he got the belt where taken by adapting. Duhaupas was beat on the inside, Szpilka was countered on his looping-left with a sort right, Washington was caught in a rhytim break. So much adaptation means a very good fighting IQ. On the other side, I don't remember Joshua adapting to opponents., for example, the shot that got Klitschko was exactly the same hook-upper combo he was throwing before with the same rhytim. Joshua is a very basic fighter, he does what he does well, but it's too little. Add to having poor head movement that he's jab is underranged, only find distance and set up punches and his footwork is only good in keeping him balanced

Agreed. I think AJ is a good fighter too who tries to impose his strengths rather than adjusting to the opponent. It has worked so far.

[STREET CLEANER]

AJ just going to hold his left arm high and wait for Wilder to throw the right. AJ will block it a few times before countering it with some uppercut and follow with his combos.

Really? He is going to try to block that punch. Really?

He does that he will be put to sleep

[Redgloveman]

Don't get me wrong, Joshua is very sharp and has a good timing for counters and it's more than enough against smaller opponents who he can bully around. But his limitations in range, footwork, head movement and rhytim will be bad for him against the big ones and I just can't get over it

It's interesting. I see a lot of people, including Paulie Malignaggi (who I rate as a very good analyst) talk about Joshua having no head movement. I actually disagree with this. Again, the Brazeale fight is a good example - since it's a fight where Joshua was looking at his best but which actually lasted for a good few rounds.

For a dominating come-forward heavyweight I think Joshua does a good job of keeping his head off the centre line and actually does bob and weave and change levels when setting up attacks. His head isn't completely stationary as a lot of people suggest.

His big problem (imho) is that his footwork, which is good for tracking down retreating opponents, is very bad defensively. He has this tendency when he's under pressure to have his feet rooted to the ground as if he's wearing cement blocks for shoes. This gets even worse when his stamina issues flare up around the 7th 8th round.

The thing about head movement is that unless your defensive footwork is strong it's rarely going to be enough to evade more than one or possibly two punches, because you very quickly run out of places to go. Joshua moves his head defensively, but his feet don't naturally take him away from trouble when they need to. Compare this to Ali or Fury, who move their feet whilst also bobbing and weaving (not that I think Fury is fit to carry Ali's jockstrap)

I see Joshua's inability to move his feet defensively as potentially being a big problem against Wilder who throws 1,2s and who doesn't need to rely on landing many shots. This is such a fundamental problem that I don't think it's ever going to be fully rectified.

Thinking about this, I don't think Wilder would have as much success with the jab as many people think. Joshua judges distance extremely well and (in MY way of seeing things) moves his head well enough to avoid single shots. If Wilder wins that fight it is almost definitely getting by Joshua stuck on his back foot, with nowhere to escape from the big right hand.

[vitali1999]

How do you blitz him without getting caught? Wilder doesn't usually start a fight trading or firefighting especially if the opponent is a threat. He will move, pivot, guage, avoid and is ready to land a counter right or a counter left hook to protect himself.

Well then he's going to lose. Blitzing wilder for an early KO is his only option, yes he risks being knocked out himself but it's the only way. The Lennox Lewis approach to an opponent with his size with power. He didn't do it against Vitali but did it against most of the big guys he fought and got early ko's, Grant, Golota

[sotgoda]

It's interesting. I see a lot of people, including Paulie Malignaggi (who I rate as a very good analyst) talk about Joshua having no head movement. I actually disagree with this. Again, the Brazeale fight is a good example - since it's a fight where Joshua was looking at his best but which actually lasted for a good few rounds.

For a dominating come-forward heavyweight I think Joshua does a good job of keeping his head off the centre line and actually does bob and weave and change levels when setting up attacks. His head isn't completely stationary as a lot of people suggest.

His big problem (imho) is that his footwork, which is good for tracking down retreating opponents, is very bad defensively. He has this tendency when he's under pressure to have his feet rooted to the ground as if he's wearing cement blocks for shoes. This gets even worse when his stamina issues flare up around the 7th 8th round.

The thing about head movement is that unless your defensive footwork is strong it's rarely going to be enough to evade more than one or possibly two punches, because you very quickly run out of places to go. Joshua moves his head defensively, but his feet don't naturally take him away from trouble when they need to. Compare this to Ali or Fury, who move their feet whilst also bobbing and weaving (not that I think Fury is fit to carry Ali's jockstrap)

I see Joshua's inability to move his feet defensively as potentially being a big problem against Wilder who throws 1,2s and who doesn't need to rely on landing many shots. This is such a fundamental problem that I don't think it's ever going to be fully rectified.

Thinking about this, I don't think Wilder would have as much success with the jab as many people think. Joshua judges distance extremely well and (in MY way of seeing things) moves his head well enough to avoid single shots. If Wilder wins that fight it is almost definitely getting by Joshua stuck on his back foot, with nowhere to escape from the big right hand.

I beg to differ here. Wilder's jab will have more effect just because it is stronger and also because it is righty vs righty. Wilder's jab also will cause AJ to overextend if the latter is tired of being jabbed in the face. The Breazeale fight you referenced, Dominic was barely throwing back so it is easy for AJ to look good there. The issue is when AJ throws and the opponent is also throwing back almost or at the same time. This is where Wilder will catch him. AJ is too aggressive for his own good. He needs to cut the aggression down when fighting Wilder. If not, everything will happen so fast and people will wonder what just happened. We need to see a good match between the two fighters.

[sotgoda]

Well then he's going to lose. Blitzing wilder for an early KO is his only option, yes he risks being knocked out himself but it's the only way. The Lennox Lewis approach to an opponent with his size with power. He didn't do it against Vitali but did it against most of the big guys he fought and got early ko's, Grant, Golota

Yeah... Lennox did that a lot but was also bigger than most of the guys he fought. You are right - he couldn't do that against Vitali. AJ may try to do that here as well - I just think he does not move his head enough to avoid Wilder throwing back. Wilder can be caught but I think he pivots really well to get caught. AJ doesn't.

[Redgloveman]

I beg to differ here. Wilder's jab will have more effect just because it is stronger and also because it is righty vs righty. Wilder's jab also will cause AJ to overextend if the latter is tired of being jabbed in the face. The Breazeale fight you referenced, Dominic was barely throwing back so it is easy for AJ to look good there. The issue is when AJ throws and the opponent is also throwing back almost or at the same time. This is where Wilder will catch him. AJ is too aggressive for his own good. He needs to cut the aggression down when fighting Wilder. If not, everything will happen so fast and people will wonder what just happened. We need to see a good match between the two fighters.

We'll agree to disagree re the jab then. Wilder does have a very good jab, no doubt about it, and it was definitely less effective against the Southpaw in Ortiz.

I'd agree with you in saying that AJ is naturally very aggressive and it'll be very interesting to see if he changes that approach. This time I'll beg to differ with you though; if I was in AJ's corner, I'd actually tell him to fight exactly at the pace that he normally would.

Wilder's boxing skills look ugly but they're underrated. He has natural and predatory talent. Whilst he can get his hands and feet in the wrong place his internal computer is excellent at learning his opponent's speed and distance etc. which makes it more likely that he lands the big right hand as the fight wears on.

This is a strength of Wilder's but it also speaks to what I consider to be something of a weakness for him. He's a slow starter (imho). Obviously you could say that this wasn't the case in Stiverne II but I think Wilder knew he had the beating of Stiverne in that case, and it wasn't the best Stiverne that night, I think it's fair to say.

Before he's had a chance to get a good look at his opponents DW often loses early rounds. He is confident enough in his power that he doesn't see that as a problem, but Joshua will definitely bring more pressure and aggression than he Wilder used to early in the fight. If I was in AJ's corner, I would bank on hitting Wilder early before he gets a chance to get used to AJ's timing and do as much damage as possible (ideally get the stoppage before the 6th round). It would also stop Wilder's better stamina coming into play. No doubt, as you allude to, this carries some big risks; but is it a greater risk than getting KO'd later in the fight when Wilder's better stamina is a factor and Wilder has had a chance to learn Joshua's movements and patterns?

If I was in Wilder's corner I'd say to be patient and try to weather the early pressure and try to walk Joshua onto something, but not to worry if the fight goes long because the longer the fight goes on the better Wilder's chances in my opinion.

[SkillspayBills]

AJ doesn't have the subsequent head movement needed to dodge that right hand for 12 rounds. They are both foils for each other and though I love em both and support them both... They need to get it on.

[Just looking]

It's interesting. I see a lot of people, including Paulie Malignaggi (who I rate as a very good analyst) talk about Joshua having no head movement. I actually disagree with this. Again, the Brazeale fight is a good example - since it's a fight where Joshua was looking at his best but which actually lasted for a good few rounds.

For a dominating come-forward heavyweight I think Joshua does a good job of keeping his head off the centre line and actually does bob and weave and change levels when setting up attacks. His head isn't completely stationary as a lot of people suggest.

His big problem (imho) is that his footwork, which is good for tracking down retreating opponents, is very bad defensively. He has this tendency when he's under pressure to have his feet rooted to the ground as if he's wearing cement blocks for shoes. This gets even worse when his stamina issues flare up around the 7th 8th round.

The thing about head movement is that unless your defensive footwork is strong it's rarely going to be enough to evade more than one or possibly two punches, because you very quickly run out of places to go. Joshua moves his head defensively, but his feet don't naturally take him away from trouble when they need to. Compare this to Ali or Fury, who move their feet whilst also bobbing and weaving (not that I think Fury is fit to carry Ali's jockstrap)

I see Joshua's inability to move his feet defensively as potentially being a big problem against Wilder who throws 1,2s and who doesn't need to rely on landing many shots. This is such a fundamental problem that I don't think it's ever going to be fully rectified.

Thinking about this, I don't think Wilder would have as much success with the jab as many people think. Joshua judges distance extremely well and (in MY way of seeing things) moves his head well enough to avoid single shots. If Wilder wins that fight it is almost definitely getting by Joshua stuck on his back foot, with nowhere to escape from the big right hand.

He has head movement, don't have the reflex to make it a game changer and don't keep a rhytim to facilitate sudden slips. In pre-engagement situations his head is stationary, that's why Klitschko had a easy time jabbing him. Not that Wilder's jab is as good as Klitschko, but it's very good on it's own, has more range and can go to the body, I can see it landing on Joshua in numbers